Words Really Do Hurt
by TealcIsTheBomb
Summary: Shawn takes a private case and screws up royally. SHAWN WHUMP AHEAD!/Complete\\\\
1. Chapter 1

__**Disclaimer: I don't own Psych. _Whatever._ This set after season 2 and it's AU because Mattie never showed up at the end. Anywho we all know how much Shawn and his dad were fighting still at this time.  
**

_Twack! Tut-tut!_

_Twack! Tut-tut!_

_Twack! Tut-tut!_

"Shawn!" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

"What?" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

"Stop!" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

"Stop what, Gus?" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

"That!" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

"That?" _Twack! Tut-tut!_

Gus had enough and before Shawn could bounce the ball off the wall again he jumped up and snatched it from his friend's hand. "That!" He walked back over to his desk and put the ball in the locked drawer where he kept all the things the Shawn uses to annoy him. Probably why he had the lock was on the largest one.

"_But I'm bored Guuuuuuus._" Gus sighed and looking over his computer rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Well how about you go and find a case Shawn. We need the money and my other job isn't paying enough to keep up Psych and your jerk chicken addiction." Shawn gasped in shock.

"You wouldn't deny me my chickeny goodness_. Would you?_" Gus mumbled something that sounded like 'try me' and continued typing up his report on the newest anti-anxiety he was going to start selling next week. "Now I'm hungry." Gus ignored Shawn as he rummaged through the office looking for any scrap of food he hadn't managed to gobble up before. "I can't help it you know?" Gus looked up at his friend who was sitting Indian style on the couch eating on half a bag of Doritos.

"Help what Shawn?"

"The fact that we hadn't gotten any cases in a long time private or from the SBPD." Gus closed his laptop and began packing up his case.

"Well Shawn if you didn't make an ass of yourself on the regular maybe you would get a steady check from the department."

"Moi make an _ass_ of myself? I think not." Gus scoffed and shook his head. "Name three times I did." Shawn held his chin in the air in defiance.

"Let's _see_. Not counting all the times we were kids; well when that millionaire murdered his son you hopped around in Lassie's arms in front of the whole department." Gus paused as if he was thinking hard. "Oh the spelling bee, our first paying job mind you, you pretended to be the announcer and gave the word banana! And there was that bride..." Shawn jumped up and put his hand over Gus' mouth who promptly licked it causing Shawn to let go and wipe it on his jeans.

"_OK_. Maybe you have a point Gus but we solved every case, didn't we?" Gus reluctantly nodded his head. "And they continued to hire us. It's just a slow week, _err,_ month with crime things will pick up soon." Gus had finished packing up his case and started to walk out the door.

"Well until then I am going to do my other job and continue to pay _your _bills."

"Thanks buddy!" Gus rolled his eyes again and exited the building.

_Still bored._ Shawn rummaged through his and Gus' desk, minus the locked drawer, the cabinets in the kitchenette, the couch cushions, under the couch, the shelves in the office, under the shelves and was about to pick the lock on the drawer when a knock got his attention.

"Come in!" Shawn had straightened out two paper clips and was working on the lock when a beautiful blonde woman walked to the desk looking lost.

"Ummmm...This is a private detective agency, _right?"_ Shawn had his tongue between his lips as he worked. "_Sir?" _The lock lost the battle and the drawer slipped open and Shawn grabbed the first thing his eyes landed on, his squishy stress frog.

"Yes it is and I am the psychic extraordinaire Shawn Spencer.." He looked up and froze at the beauty before him standing he held out his hand. "Miss?..."

"Barret. Angela Barret." Sitting back down he motioned to the chair directly in front of the desk, which the woman sat down in. "I'm needing your help." Shawn looked over the woman trying to pick up on any clues.

_Dark circles under eyes, caffeine jitter, withdrawn._ Holding his hand to his head. "You lost something very important to you. _Or should I say someone?"_ The woman began to sniffle and she grabbed some tissues from the box on the desk.

"It's just that my brother went missing three days ago and when I went to the police to report it a detective there told me that I should come back when someone is dead." She dabbed at her eyes and her breathing hitched a little.

"Let me guess tall guy, salt 'n pepper hair heavy on the salt, looks like he's been sucking on Sour Patch kids?" She chuckled.

"Yeah you know him?"

"Know him. Beat him at his own game. Same thing really."

"Well the thing is my brother used to run off but _he's changed_ he has a life worth living here now. _You know?"_ Shawn nodded because he knew all too well. "And now he's gone and I'm worried." Shawn stood and walked around the desk to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll find him for you, _I promise."_ Angela stood up and gave him a hug.

"_Thank you Mr. Spencer."_ She broke the hug and handed Shawn a few photos. "This is the most recent photos I have of him maybe you can get something off of them." Shawn nodded and helped see the woman out. As soon as the door closed Shawn jumped up and down and began dancing around the office.

As Angela walked toward her car she threw the tissues on the ground and pulled out her cell phone to make a call. "I hired his kid now it's just a matter of time before we get to the old man." Ending the call she smirked at how naïve the man was and how much pain she was going to cause him and his father.

**A/N: Me likey reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

Shawn pulled up outside the garage he recognized from one of the photos and walked up to the mechanic who was working on a motorcycle. "Nice bike."

"Yeah it's a 1976 Harley Shovelhead." The mechanic walked around the bike and started to clean off his hands with a shop towel. "Can I _help_ you?" Shawn flashed his best smile and showed off the pictures to the man.

"I was looking for this man. His sister came to me worried about him." The mechanic looked over the photos with a critical eye.

"Yeah I know him, his name's Matt, Matt Barret, he worked here for almost six months but was offered a better job at another garage." The man shook his head. "I miss him, he did the best bike work I've ever seen but I don't blame him for taking more money. You say he's missing?" Shawn nodded.

"Yeah, his sister said 'bout three days ago he was unreachable and because of his past track record the police won't look into it so she hired me."

"Man I really hate that, sorry I can't be of more help."

"It's alright. Thanks." He waved at the mechanic as he left on his bike and headed toward the police station.

_**Psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Shawn walked up the steps of station with a smile on his face and a plan in his head, approaching the front desk he prepared for a vision. Studying Buzz for a moment he knew exactly what to do. "_OH! _I'm getting something!" Buzz looked up and watched as Shawn almost went in full body convulsions. Shawn opened his eyes and saw he had the attention of the young officer. "_Something important was forgotten." _He opened his eyes and pointed at Buzz. "You forgot something near and dear to your wife didn't _you_?" Buzz's eyes widened in shock as he nodded.

"I forgot my sister-in-law's cat's birthday. They had a party and everything. Frannie is so angry with me." Shawn tried to keep a straight face as he listened to the distraught officer. "She made me sleep on the couch last night." The grimace Shawn got was not faked though because he knew any couch wouldn't fit the almost seven foot tall man. He reached over and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"You know Buzz you can't go wrong with flowers and jewelry. I would also buy the cat an extra special gift." Buzz nodded. "And if I were you I would have them delivered to where she works so everyone will see how much you love her." Buzz leaned forward and looked up both ways of the hall.

"Keep an eye out Shawn?" Shawn nodded and smirked as Buzz slinked to the file room that was attached to front desk area. He did his own surveillance and ran around the partition to get on the computer. He quickly typed in Matt's name and the first file that popped up had a photo of the man he was looking for, not having the time to read it over right then and there he hit print and waited next to the printer as it spit out the papers.

"_Come on. Come on. Come on!"_ He started to hop up and down as it seemed to take forever for the file to print. When he could hear the knob rattle on the door of the ajoining room and the voice of Buzz he started to become more frantic. "Come. ON!" Just as Buzz came into the front desk area the printer stopped and he grabbed the stack of papers and stuffed them in his jacket. "Buzz! My man!" He put a hand on the other man's shoulder and guided him back toward his chair. "Whatcha' order the lovely lady?" Buzz looked at him and smiled.

"A bouquet of yellow tulips, her favorite flower." Shawn nodded in approval and gave two pats to the man's shoulder.

"Well I'll leave you to your work Buzzy." He started to flounce away. "_And good luck man!" _ He nearly ran out of the department and as soon as he hit the bottom step he breathed a sigh of relief. Not giving the building a second glance he hopped on his bike and sped away.

_**Psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

"_Dammit Shawn!" _Shawn had tried to sneak into the Psych office, he even parked a bike a block away when he spotted the blueberry. In hindsight it _was kinda stupid_ for trying to sneak when he knew there was no hiding room in the office.

"Heya buddy! What's up!" He came around the corner wearing his best smile and found a very flustered looking Gus sitting behind his desk.

"_What's up!_? First off you pick the lock on my desk, _breaking it_, take everything out of the drawer, and do this." Shawn looked at the mess on Gus' desk and smiled at the tower he made of all the things from the drawer. "How did you get it like this anyway?" Gus had stood up and cocked his head to the side to look at the tower. Shawn wasn't really quite sure but somehow he got yoyos, rubber band balls, stress squishy things, light up pens, McDonald's toys, bouncy balls, old shoelaces, bits of string, and a stuffed pineapple stacked into a tower that was about three feet tall. All in all Shawn was quite proud of it.

"I don't know." He scratched at his head and walked around Gus' desk admiring it. "But's it's pretty awesome, _right?_" Gus just ran a hand over his perfectly oiled head and sighed.

"I'll have to give you that. It is pretty impressive, but have you _ever_ thought of asking me to unlock the drawer?" Shawn pursed his lips and shook his head in the negative.

"_ummmm...nope_. Ok! That done we have a case!" Shawn flopped down on the sofa and Gus joined him on it.

"What we've got Shawn."

"Missing person's case." He handed Gus the photos. "This is Matt Barret, his sister said about three days ago he went missing but when she went to the police with it they didn't want to investigate because of his track record." He reached into his jacket and pulled out the wrinkled papers and slapped them on the coffee table. "And this is the file the police have on him."

Gus raised his eyebrows at that realization. "_What? _We're looking for a criminal and not to have him arrested?" Shawn nodded. "_Shawn_ there is no way I am going to help you look for a known criminal."

"_Just hear me out Gus._ Matt has changed his sister even said so and I interviewed a guy he used to work for, said he was one of the best workers he had and that he was offered a better paying job because he was that good. Just because he had a few bumps in the road doesn't mean that he didn't change."

"And what are these _bumps?"_ Shawn shrugged his shoulders.

"Haven't checked yet." Gus picked up a few of the papers and Shawn picked up the rest, together they read in silence.

"_A few bumps Shawn!"_ Shawn looked over his half of the papers. "His arrest record goes back to when he was seventeen, for grand theft auto. It goes on from there he was arrest fifteen times in six years most of those were possession or theft but the cincher was the last arrest. In 1995 he was arrested for assault on an officer." Shawn grabbed the papers in his hand and started to read them.

"Did you see who the arresting officer was, _Gus_?" Gus shook his head. "It was my dad for almost all of these arrest." Shawn kept reading the file and his eyes widened. "_Oh my god!"_ Gus shot him a questioning look. "My dad was the officer he assaulted." Shawn threw the papers back onto the table and sighed deeply. "How come I never knew?"

"I don't know Shawn but I think you should tell this sister that you don't want the case." Shawn gave Gus a real serious look.

"No Gus I'm still going to do it." Gus gave him an incredulous look. "Look he was only twenty-four when he was arrested last, he served his time and has changed. _ People can change you know._" Gus looked at his friend and realized what he meant, what the case meant to Shawn. He reached over and patted his friend's arm.

"I know buddy." He sighed and decided to lighten the mood. "How about we get some jerk chicken and we'll pick this back up tomorrow." Gus raised a fist and Shawn bumped it as they walked out of the office. As he turned around and grabbed his keys he smiled at the tower his friend had built, it was only a few years ago when Gus would worry when he would find something like that during Shawn's visits. Whenever he would find some oddity it always meant Shawn had left and wanted to leave behind something for Gus to remember him by but now it just was another annoyance he had to deal with. "Yeah people can change." He smiled and exited the little building as Shawn was honking the horn of the blueberry and waving at him to hurry up.

_****_

Angela smiled as she hung up the phone. "That was Calvin, he wanted to say how sorry he was that you are missing and if there was anything he could do for me." A rough hand laced through her hair and she looked up at the man. "Hey there _bro."_ The man rolled his eyes.

"I _hate_ it when you call me that, it just makes me feel all kinds of nasty." Angela smiled at the deep baritone voice, she stood and ran her hands up the rippled arms to the equally muscled chest.

"I like it _nasty._" She gave him a knowing look and licked her lips at him. He picked her up and let her wrap her legs around his waist. "_Really nasty."_ He growled into her mouth.

"I hate all this waiting." Angela ran her hands up and down his back.

"Just a little longer, my sweet. _Just a little longer_."


	3. Chapter 3

Shawn had just finished fortifying the tower on Gus' desk when the blueberry pulled up. He didn't give his friend anytime to exit the vehicle and was buckling up just as Gus was going to pull the key from the ignition. _"Holy crap, Shawn!"_ Shawn smirked as Gus tried to jump out the window. "How do you do that?"

Shawn just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, doesn't matter. We have places we need to go." Gus rolled his eyes at Shawn who started to bounce around in his seat. "Well Gus _let's roll_!"

"There is something very important you need to do before we leave."

Shawn searched his thoughts for a second. "_And_ that would be?"

Gus hung his head and sighed. "You need to tell me where we're going."

"_Oh!" _Shawn handed Gus the police file with several addresses that were highlighted.

"_All of these_?"

"Yes my shiny headed one. _All of them_. So point those wheels toward the road and let's _go!_"

Gus sighed and cursed his life as he started the car and headed toward the closest address in the list.

_**Psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

"McNab! Come into my office _please_." The rookie officer looked up and with a perplexed look headed in the chief's office.

"What can I do for you Chief?" Karen motioned with her hand for the officer to sit down which he did, but tentatively.

She shuffled the papers that she was holding and sighed. "McNab yesterday you printed up a report on a repeat offender and I want to know why."

Buzz was genuinely confused as he sat and thought throughout his day. "Chief I was running the front desk, I had no reason to print anything up. In fact I am sure I didn't print anything." Karen studied the man and believed him, Buzz was never one to lie and even if he was trying now she would see it because she knew the man was horrible at lying.

"_Well _did you leave your post without relief yesterday?"

Buzz mulled over the question and shook his head then remembered the only time he left without 'official' relief. His face lit up in realization and before he could stop his lips he murmured. "_Shawn."_

Karen looked up sharply at the word and if Buzz could he would have literally shrunk into himself. "_Shawn Spencer?"_

Knowing that he had been heard all he could do was nod in the affirmative. "_Yes ma'am."_ Karen waved at him to continue, Buzz didn't want to but he met her gaze. "Yesterday I stepped away from my post to make a phone call for about two minutes and Shawn watched the desk for me." He dropped his head and stared at his shoes.

"Personal or business?"

"_Personal."_ Buzz started to fidget as Karen thought over what she had been told.

"Ok. McNab." The officer looked up at her and she could see how remorseful and hurt he was, Karen rubbed her forehead. "While I don't approve of you making a personal phone call while on post you had your trust broken by someone you consider a friend and for that I'm sorry." She watched as the man relaxed a bit. "Normally I would have overlooked the phone call because you have never done anything like it before but the fact remains that police information was taken by a civilian, which is a giant breech in our security." Buzz found his shoes interesting again. "And for that you are being suspended for two weeks while IAB investigate your computer traffic." Buzz's head snapped up and he sucked in a deep breath, afraid to talk he just nodded and stood. "I'll need your badge and gun." Karen didn't think it was possible but the six and half foot officer looked smaller than her five and two inch frame. She reached out a hand as he placed the items on her desk and gave his arm a comforting squeeze_. "Buzz_ I am truly sorry for this and I want you to know that if it wasn't for IA flagging the report then I would have handled this discreetly." Buzz nodded and Karen could see the unshed tears in his eyes. "Also I am personally going to make sure this, in no way, reflects on your record." Buzz's tense frame relaxed a bit and slowly he left the office. As he walked through the bullpen toward the front entrance he could hear the whispers.

Karen watched as the rookie left the station and saw how the other officers were pointing and whispering at him. "_Everyone! _Back to work." As everyone went back to their duties, she went back into her office and dialed furiously a number she had known for almost as long as she was an officer. "_Henry I need to talk to you about your son..."_

_**Psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Henry was, without a doubt, the most pissed off he has ever been in his entire life and his son was at the center of that anger. "_Karen I promise you if Shawn comes within a hundred feet of here I will make sure he comes straight to the station."_ He said his goodbyes and all but broke the phone in his grip as he replayed the phone call in his mind.

_Illegally printed a report, got an officer suspended, IA investigating, and to top it off he betrayed the trust of a rookie._ "Dammit Shawn." Henry went back to scrubbing down his kitchen, but angrier this time. He was only able to keep this up for about fifteen minutes before his anger bubbled over. Grabbing his phone he jabbed the Shawn's number into the keypad.

_**psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Both Gus and Shawn were exhausted they had visited about ten different addresses and all they could turn up was Matt had changed since he got out of jail. He had become reliable and people trusted him with everything from their possessions to their children. "I just _don't get it_, Gus. This guy had everything going for him a good paying job, tons of friends, a brand new car that was practically given to him, and a couple mentioned that he had a girlfriend that could double as Heidi Klum." Shawn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What's the next address?" Gus gave his friend a sidelong glance and saw how truly exhausted he was, this case was extremely personal and he knew Shawn was going to stop at nothing to find this guy and prove that he had changed for the better.

"Next address is his old place of residence, his mom could still live there." Shawn nodded and sighed as he leaned against his window. Gus was mute the whole drive over only sparing a few glance toward Shawn in the course of it. As they pulled up outside the brick home Gus expected Shawn to jump up and leave but he stayed still in his seat.

"_Shawn?"_ Shawn sat up straighter. "We're here Shawn, don't you want to _you know?"_ Shawn nodded, plastered a fake smile on his face, and with clearly fake enthusiasm walked up the walk to knock on the door.

A woman with gray hair and permanent smile wrinkles around her mouth answered the door. "Can I help you?"

Shawn's smile became less fake and more real as the old woman was clearly checking him out. "Yes I am Shawn Spencer, psychic detective, and this is my associate Stewart Lemongrass Squirts."

Gus extended his hand. "_Hello."_ The woman gave it a quick shake and then looked back at Shawn.

"We're here because we are looking for this man." He showed the woman the photo and she gasped.

"That's my boy, that's my Matty." Her eyes began to water. "What do you mean you're looking for him?" Both Gus' and Shawn's eyes widened at that realization but they knew there was no going back.

Shawn rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "_Well_ ma'am, your daughter came by the office and said four days ago he went to work and never came back." The woman waved them into her home and sat heavily down on a nearby couch.

"My _Matty_ is missing?"

Both Shawn and Gus stood in front of her. "Looks that way...?"

"Martha Turner."

"_Martha_, Angela came to me yesterday because the police didn't want to look into it." Martha nodded. "I haven't been able to come up with much other than he was a good worker and people didn't see why he would leave. On the bright side there is no evidence that something bad has happened to him."

Martha smiled sweetly at them but tears were starting to drop. "Well I can't tell you much other than what you already know, two years ago he came back and really changed. _I hope you find him_." She started to cry freely and Shawn became even more uncomfortable. Gus, on the other hand, sat next to the woman and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Shawn will find Matt, he's the best at what he does. He'll find him." Martha wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. Slowly she stood and walked toward the door to see the men out.

"_Thank you boys."_ She bid them farewell and closed the door gently after they left.

Shawn and Gus walked toward the blueberry but something was bothering Shawn. "Didn't she seem a little to _Ok _for someone who just found out their child is missing?"

"People received news differently Shawn you know that." Shawn just nodded and continued to look about the road, he noticed a very nice BMW parked a few houses up the block and it struck him as weird that such a nice car was in middle class neighborhood. Shaking the thought out of his head he went to the blueberry.

"_I'm hungry_. How 'bout we get some grub before we head to the next address. How about Buffalo Wild Wings."

"You got that right." Gus held his fist up for a bump and Shawn was going to receporcate but his phone began to ring. Shawn reached into his pocket and groaned at the caller ID.

"It's my dad."

_**Psychpsychpsychpsych**_

Martha watched as the men left and as soon as she closed the door she began to laugh from relief. "Did I do it justice?"

Matt and Angela entered the foyer beaming at the woman. "You sure did mom. Thank you so much for doing this."

"Yeah thanks Martha, you played the part perfectly."

Martha smiled at her son and daughter-in-law. "_Anything_ to make the bastard pay for ruining my baby boy's life."

Matt scooped his mom into a hug and Angela patted them both on the back. "Let's make lunch I'm hungry." The trio walked into the kitchen discussing the next step to their plans.


	4. Chapter 4

Shawn hit end on his cell and laughed at Gus' shocked face. "I wanted to go there next anyways so whatever he had to say to me he can tell me in person."

Gus relaxed a bit and pointed the car toward their destination. When they arrived in front of Shawn's childhood home Gus decided it was best to stay in the car. "I've _never_ see your dad that pissed."

Shawn glanced up from the police report he was reading to the porch where his dad was standing turning a purple color. "What did I do _this time?"_ Gus shrugged his shoulder and true to his word refused to unbuckle and follow his friend.

Shawn stopped about ten feet from the porch and watched as he dad stared him down. "What do you have to _say_ for yourself Shawn?"

Shawn rubbed at the back of his neck. "Ummm I have great hair?" Shawn clicked his teeth a bit. "I'm the best psychic detective in Santa Barbara?" Shawn flashed a half-hearted smile.

"_Come inside_." Henry opened the door, walked in, and left the door open for Shawn to follow.

"_Look_ Dad I promise..." Henry slammed the door shut causing Shawn to jump.

"_Promise what Shawn?"_ Henry walked around to face Shawn. "Promise to get a cop suspended? How 'bout promise to illegally print a police report? Or my favorite promise to break the trust of someone who sees you as a **friend!" **Henry started to jab Shawn's chest with his finger. "**All for a LOSER that only knows how to get arrested!"** Shawn was used to Henry's angry tirades but this one was by far the worse.

"What are you talking about? Who got suspended? What's going on?" Shawn knew he shouldn't poke the angry bear that was his father but he also needed answers.

"_What's going __**on!"**_Henry turned a new color that Shawn had never seen before Shawn was going to have to name it, well _later_ when his dad was close to spitting in his face. "Karen called you got a cop suspended because of your little adventure you took yesterday."

Realization dawned, Shawn closed his eyes and sighed. _I have to fix this._ Shawn opened his mouth to try and smooth his father's anger.

"_No Shawn!_ Just no. Nothing you say to me can fix this. This man you have decided to work for is a several time loser, in and out of jail for nearly ten years, runs from his family, and sneers at anything resembling adult hood." Henry studied his son intently. "You know what Shawn he's just like you; guess that's why you took this case."

"Dad people can change." Henry raised a hand to cut him off

"No people don't. I'm just waiting for you to give this up, hop on that motorcycle of yours and leave this town. With all that you've done _I'm hoping_ that's what you do. You really screwed up kid but since when do you give a damn about anyone but yourself?"

If Henry didn't know his son so well he would have believed the apologetic and hurt look that flashed across Shawn's face. Without another word Shawn all but ran out of the house and scrambled into the blueberry.

"_Shawn?"_

Shawn just stared through the windshield. "Go to Psych Gus I-I need my bike. I have some things I need to do."

Gus gave him a sidelong look. "_Shawn?"_

_"_I need to fix some things and I need to do it alone. _Please_ take me to Psych."

Gus didn't know if it was the 'please' or the defeated look on his best friend's face but he took off toward Psych.

_**psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Shawn went faster than he had ever gone to the police department and snuck into the back entrance. Following what his dad had taught him when he was nine he managed to get to the IA department without anyone noticing. When the door swung open Shawn sighed in relief.

"_Mike_ long time no see. We need to talk...

_**psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Wearing a genuine smile Shawn left the IA department feeling light but that smile and the feeling were wiped away when he heard a growl and a large hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"_Come with me Spencer."_

Shawn was pulled, pushed, and just generally yanked around the bullpen as Carlton led him to the Chief's office. A few officers took notice and pointed while whispering as Shawn was paraded in front of them. _Well this can't be good._ As he was shoved through the open door of the Chief's office his fears were confirmed when Karen didn't flash her small smile she normally did when she saw Shawn.

"Sit down Mr. Spencer and detective when you leave close the door."

"_Gladly_." Carlton wore a shit-eating grin as he closed the door in what Shawn was sure was going to be his tomb.

"Chief..."

Karen slammed her hand on the desk. "_No._ Mr. Spencer you have disgraced this department. You have betrayed the trust of a rookie that looks up to you, _God knows why_. You have opened everyone you've ever worked with to an IA investigation." She stood up and pointed at Shawn. "You have screwed up beyond repair this time. You no longer work for the SBPD. I don't want to see your face in this building ever again. Good bye Mr. Spencer."

Shawn saw the hurt and betrayal in Karen's eyes and he so badly _needed_ to fix this but for once in his life he didn't know what to say or do. Slowly he stood. "I am truly sorry Chief. Thank you for the opportunity you gave me." Karen just gaped at the defeated form of Shawn as he left the office.

Shawn just wanted to escape, he wanted to run, he _needed _to run but as he left Karen's offices all eyes were on him. "_Traitor_." Shawn didn't see who said that but it didn't matter it was true.

"Congratulations Spencer you officially made the SBPD a target for ridicule."

"Lassie not now." Shawn navigated through the desks as quickly as he could but Carlton matched his every step.

"_Yes _now Spencer. It's bad enough that you've been allowed to flounce around like you own the place but to do what you did? You got a good officer suspended. Everyone, _including me,_ is open for investigation. Don't you ever think Spencer?"

They had come to just inside the entrance. "_Guess not. _Anything else you care to say?"

Carlton grabbed his shirt and pulled him close enough that Shawn could tell that he had forgone the creamer and sugar in his coffee. "If I see your face again in this building again it better be under a sheet in the morgue." He released Shawn and shoved him out the door. Shawn stumbled down the steps barely avoiding becoming up close and personal with the stucco steps. As he boarded his bike he smiled slightly as he spied Karen watching him from her office window. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he was asked back, it may come with severe stipulations but he knew he would be back, _one day._

_**psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Matt and Angela watch as Shawn sped away from the SBPD. "Wonder what that was all about?"

Matt started their car and pulled away following Shawn from a safe distance. "Doesn't matter Ange all that matters is now we know where Henry Spencer lives and we can _finally_ quit waiting."

"I hope he hasn't spotted us."

"He's too preoccupied with _whatever_ is going on now."

Angela watched as her husband gripped the wheel, every muscle in his arms flexed. "After were through with our _fun_ tonight you want to get a room?"

Matt wiggled his eyebrows at her. "_You betcha."_

_**psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Shawn stood outside the door of Buzz's apartment and sighed. Just as he rose his hand to knock the door swung open and petite redhead ran into him. "_Oh_ I'm so sorry." She looked up and the apologetic look quickly changed to one of fury. Shawn didn't have time to prepare for the slap. "_You_ need to leave."

Shawn looked into Francine's eyes. "I need to tell Buzz I'm sorry."

"**NO.**__ You don't get that privilege. I have known Buzz since high school and I have never seen him so crushed before in my life." She took a step back and began to close the door. "In all the time I've known Buzz he has never looked up to anyone quite like he _did _to you. You have crushed him in more ways than one. **LEAVE.**" Francine slammed the door causing Shawn to jump. Shawn bent over and placed the pineapple he was holding on the welcome mat, slowly he descended the steps to get to his motorcycle.

Sighing he looked up Buzz's apartment door wishing he could do something different. "_Sorry Buzz._" Just as he was going to put on his helmet he felt a familiar presence at his and to confirm it he heard the click.

"You are going to come with me." The voice was gravelly and Shawn tried to place it but came up blank. "I am _not _going to tell you again." Shawn slowly dismounted his bike and went toward a BMW that he had seen before. The pieces started to fall in place.

Shawn froze. "Matt Turner?" He was answered with a jab from the gun.

"GET. IN. THE. CAR." Shawn turned and came face to chest with the biggest guy he had ever seen. He backed up two steps so that he could see the face of his assailant.

"Matt I don't know..."

Both Shawn and Matt looked up as the door to Buzz's apartment opened up and Francine stepped out.

"Get in the car or I shoot the pretty lady." Shawn nodded and got into the backseat Matt forced him to slide over as he sat next to him, gun trained the whole time.

Shawn noticed the company in the front seat. "_Angela, Martha._ Good to see you. Too bad you're both psychotic." Shawn didn't hear the crack or the laughter that followed because he was too busy being unconscious as Matt pistol whipped him.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on _Shawny_ boy time to wake up."

The astringent tang of smelling salts assaulted his nostrils and his slow waking up was fast forwarded. Inhaling deeply through his nose he snapped his head back and shook it to try and clear his befuddled mind. As he opened his eyes he expect to be anywhere but where he was; a warehouse, abandoned home, cabin in the woods, or even a large van _definitely_ not his dad's basement. "I _said_ wake **up!"** The slap to the face was ten times as worse as Francine's and instead of waking him it threatened to make him pass back out.

"SHAWN!"

The graying of his vision ended at that single word his eyes slammed open so fast he was sure they were going to get stuck that way. Not only was Shawn in his dad's basement but so was his father. Both Spencer men were taped to wheel chairs that were parked in front of each other so that they were facing each other. Shawn noted the cut above his father's eye and how his lip was starting to swell.

"_Dad?"_

His dad was staring at him and motioned with his eyes to the left. Just as Shawn panned his head in that direction a fist buried itself into his gut. Shawn leaned as far forward as the chair would allow and gasped for air.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Wrong choice of words, _old man_." Shawn heard the _thwap_ of flesh on flesh and his father moan. Shawn was trying desperately to catch his breath so he could turn Matt's attention back to him but was failing, as he heard the third loud _THWAP _he grew desperate and struggled in his wheelchair till it fell to the side. After the loud clanging of the metal hitting concrete silence prevailed throughout the basement for a moment till he heard a throaty laugh.

"Matty, my dear, help the poor boy up and leave the old man alone, we don't want _him_ dead." Shawn sighed in relief as Matt came over and put it back. "Oh you _poor baby_." Martha walked over to his father with a washcloth and began to clean the blood away. "You made my baby boy mad, you don't want to do that." Henry stared straight forward as the psychotic woman lovingly cleaned his face and checked his bruises that were forming. "You'll be fine _my dear_." She cupped his chin in her hand and Henry yanked his face away from her touch. Martha laughed again and sauntered over to where Matt was getting something ready. "Matty please don't hit the poor man again save all your energy for the_ younger_ one."

Shawn watched as his father sucked in a breath of air and was going to begin a tirade that would surely have turned the large man's anger toward him but Shawn caught his eye and shook his head vehemently.

"You know you should listen to your son, Henry, we want you to live through this and_ well_ my husband can go a little too far when he's angry."

Shawn raised his eyes toward the steps as Angela walked down them. "Hello Angela, how's being crazy treatin' ya." Angela flashed Shawn a toothy smile and nodded. The next thing Shawn knew his world was spinning as he was slugged in the head.

He could feel hot breath on the back of his neck. _"Don't call my wife psycho_,_ you hear me?_" Shawn barely had mind to nod let alone say ok but Matt was sure he got his point across and the sound of heavy footsteps walked away from him.

"_Well_ now that we're all here how 'bout we make introductions." Martha walked in-between the Spencer men. "I'm Martha, Matty's mom. That beautiful woman who is helping him get ready is my daughter-in-law, Angela, and well both of you are up close and personal acquainted with my son." Slowly she walked over to Henry who refused to let his eyes travel anywhere from his son's form. "You are the famous Henry Spencer, the man who ruined my baby boy's life nearly a decade ago." Then she walked over to Shawn and sat in his lap. "And you, _Shawny_, are the reason we are all here today. I must thank you for that." Shawn's breath quickened as she kissed his cheek and gave it two taps. As he looked at his father he saw several things flash across his face; hatred, rage, and disappointment. It was the last look that caused Shawn to cast down his eyes.

"Well I suggest you two talk amongst yourselves as we finish getting this place ready." Each member of the trio had duct tape and what looked like foam. "_Don't want the neighbors to hear us."_ The sound of tape being ripped from its roll filled the room.

Shawn raised his eyes again and saw that the cut above his dad's eye was bleeding again. "_You Ok?"_

"What do you think?" Henry shook his head. "You've done some dumb things Shawn but leading a known convict to my _house_ that just takes the cake."

"If it helps I thought I was helping a grieving sister find her brother."

Shawn was sure if his father wasn't taped to a wheelchair he would have strangled him. "No that doesn't help, _Shawn._ When I opened my door I saw you slumped over and bleeding before I could do anything that _woman_ put a stun gun to my neck. The next thing I know I'm coming to and _Matty boy_ slaps me silly." Shawn didn't know what to say. "What _no_ quip on how a woman got a hand up on me?"

Shawn shook his head. "I'm _sorry_." Henry gasped in surprise. "You shouldn't have been dragged into this." Shawn's head drooped again as it began to throb. "I really thought people could change, _guess I was wrong._"

"_Shawn."_

"You were right dad _no one_ can change, including me. You know I saw the police report where he assaulted you and still decided to help. It's just his story was so much like my own I _needed _to prove that he hadn't run." Shawn closed his eyes as he thought over the past two days. "_Needing_ to prove that clouded my vision."

"_Look at me kid._" Shawn raised his head and met his father's gaze. "We're going to get out of this. We'll be ok." Another throaty laugh reached their ears.

"We're all done now." Martha walked over to Henry and with Angela's help immobilized the man even more with tape. "You know your _daddy's _right Shawny, except for _one thing._" She stroked his father's jaw with a finger. Henry tried to jerk his head away but couldn't. "You are not going to be Ok, in fact, you're not going to_ live_ through this." Just as Henry opened his mouth to shout Angela placed tape over it and wrapped the tape around his head several times. Shawn watched as this was all happening in quiet fascination, he was helpless to do anything but. He felt, more than heard, Matt come to his side.

"Let's begin." A piece of tape was wrapped around his head as well. "I want to hear your screams but, _better safe than sorry_."

Angela and Martha made sure Henry could see everything that was happening. "You ruined my baby boy's life, now we get to ruin yours."

The loud _CRACK_ as Matt's fists hit Shawn was mingled with Shawn's grunts and Henry's futile yells through the tape.

_**Psychpsychpsychpsychpsych**_

Karen was staring at the file she had started reading two hours ago, she just kept flashing back to when Shawn was in her office. _God he looked so sad._ She knew what she said she hadn't really meant but she was just so _angry_, the words came without thinking. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "_Dammit_." Karen picked up her phone and started to dial Henry's number but a knock interrupted her.

"Come in." She hung up the phone and watched as Mike Inéz from internal affairs walked into her office and shut the door behind him.

"Sorry to bother you Chief Vick but I need to talk to you about today's incident."

Karen sighed as she prepared for the worst. "Go on Mike."

"Well first off I am going to call off the investigation and have McNab reinstated….."


	6. Chapter 6

"So let me get this straight _Shawn_ came to you and told you the spirits took so much control of him he had no choice but to print up the report."

Mike smiled and nodded. "That he did and then he went to tell me that it had never happened before, _ever_."

"That still doesn't tell me why he kept the report after he discovered that the spirits had made him take it."

Another smile and nod. "Well he _did_ admit that was his own doing and he apologized profusely. I laid out some rules _here_." He handed Karen a file. "They state whenever Shawn is in the precinct an officer is to watch him at all times. He agreed and went one step further and picked Detective Lassiter to be the officer with that duty. He also continued to tell me about how the spirits tricked McNab by pressuring him to make that phone call."

It was Karen's turn to smile and nod. "Well I think a thank you is in order for you Mike and some phone calls are in order." She stood and held out her hand which Mike took and shook.

"Again I'm sorry about the investigation thing but my hands were tied. McNab is a good cop." He stopped just in front of the office door. "We're just really swamped upstairs and I have the feeling this file will accidently get thrown away." Karen smiled at the admission.

"And I am just _terribly_ busy here and might never get around to asking for it."

Mike chuckled as he left the office and headed his way back to his office. Karen could see Carlton was watching her office intently so she decided to wave him in.

"Detective Lassiter please sit down." Carlton looked unsure of himself as he did. "Well Mike just informed of several things; first most he is calling off the investigation and he is going to call off McNab's suspension, secondly for now on whenever Mr. Spencer is in the precinct he is to have an officer on him at all times so the spirits won't be able to take control like this again and that officer will be you." Karen inwardly smiled as Carlton's face dropped. "And thirdly Mr. Spencer apologized for the whole situation." Carlton looked genuinely shocked.

"_Wow."_

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I am going to call McNab now and tell him the good news, how about you call Mr. Spencer and tell him that we need him here to discuss the new situation."

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It hurt to breathe, blink, _think_. Shawn was sure he couldn't take the beating anymore and he knew that Matt was pulling the punches. "_Matty_ give the boy a break and then we can start something _else_." For the first time since he was forced into the car he was thankful toward Martha. She walked over to him and undid the tape from his head. "I don't think you'll be able to scream anymore." Shawn held his head up and met his father's gaze. Henry looked _scared_ and in turn Shawn felt even more frightened.

His thoughts were fuzzy and he closed his eyes. "_Wheelchairs?"_

Martha's laugh bubbled toward his ears. "Makes it easier to move you guys, if the chair falls over it's easy to pick up, immobilizing you was a snap, and when Matty begins with the next round you will see just how handy they are with harder blows."

Shawn flinched at the realization that they were just beginning. "Not _that_ where did you get them?" Despite the pain Shawn could stop his smart ass side. "You know I really am digging them and since the one I'm sitting it will have stickiness from the tape I want to know where to get a new one."

Martha laughed again and patted his cheek as she walked past him. "You can get them at any medical supply store." Shawn nodded and felt a smile flit across his face.

"Good to know." He licked his dry lips and swallowed deeply. "You think you can take the tape off my dad's mouth, he's old and it can't be good for him." Shawn saw contempt flash across Henry's face and he smiled again because only he could get that look.

"Sure thing Shawny, but daddy must promise to keep quiet." Angela walked over to Henry and whispered in his ear. "_Can you do that daddy? Stay quiet?"_ Henry knew he was lying when he nodded but he wanted the damn tape removed so he wouldn't feel so powerless. Angela slowly unwound the tape from his head and once it was free he was able to breathe easier.

Afraid to talk he stared into his son's eyes and so much; the pain, fear, and most importantly stubborness. He watched as those soulful hazel eyes filled with tears and as he shut them they fell. Henry took a deep breath and watched as they opened again, a silent conversation was held between father and son one that said so much more than words could. Shawn came to a conclusion during their staring match. "_Let my dad go. Take me anywhere you want, just let my dad go."_ His voice was rough with emotions.

"Oh _Shawny_ boy, you don't get to choose that." Martha walked over to him and fiddled with his wheelchair till his right leg was extended. "Time for round two." Matt walked over with a bat and swung it down. As it connected with his leg he felt the bone crack and true to Martha's word the wheelchair leaned forward till the extended part hit the floor and then bounced back. He wanted to scream but taking a deep breath seemed like an impossible task, besides his dad was doing enough shouting for the both of them. He couldn't hear his father's shouts over the buzzing in his ears and as Matt brought the bat back down again the buzzing became a roar as unconsciousness claimed him.

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Buzz hung up the phone with a huge smile on his face. "Who was that _honey?"_

"That was the chief she said Shawn came by and fixed everything for me. I come back tomorrow." Francine matched his smile. "Let's celebrate." He grabbed his coat and as he stepped outside to wait for Francine to join him he almost tripped over a pineapple. He bent over, picked it up, and read the note. "_Honey!_"

Francine joined him. "Yes dear."

"When did Shawn stop by?"

Francine chewed her lip obviously embarrassed. "About two hours ago. I was just so angry I didn't let him in."

"What _else?"_

She tapped her foot on the welcome mat. "_I smacked him_."

"_Francine!"_

"I'm sorry Buzzy but he hurt you and I love you and I just really wasn't thinking when I did it."

He gently gripped her arms. "It's OK Frannie we'll apologize."

She nodded and sniffed as tears threatened from guilt. "I saw him leave with some friends and left his bike, maybe we can get him something while we're out and get back before he comes back."

Something in Buzz's gut twisted with uncertainty. "He came on his bike and left with Gus?"

She shook her head. "No some big guy with two women in a BMW." She saw the questioning in her husband's eyes. "_What?"_

_"_I think Shawn's in trouble."

All plans of celebrating left as Buzz called Shawn's cell and when he didn't answer the third time around his worry grew.

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Karen heard how happy the rookie officer was and that good mood was infectious. A smile firmly planted itself on her lips as she prepared to leave for the day. A knock interrupted her thoughts. "_Come in."_

"Chief I tried Spencer a couple of times and he hasn't picked up I'm just going to call it a day and try again tomorrow."

"Have you called Gus?" Carlton groaned at the thought. "Call Gus, I'll call Henry. I just don't want Mr. Spencer to do anything drastic." _Like run._ She smiled sweetly as her detective left irritated but resigned. She dialed Henry's number and waited. "_Come on Henry pick up."_


	7. Chapter 7

Shawn wasn't sure how long he had been out but he was sure that it wasn't very long. "Come on _Shawny_ there is no time for naps." Slowly his eyes unglued at Martha's voice. "There you are, you had us a scared for a minute." Shawn was no longer in the wheelchair but was looking at the ceiling of the basement. "Let's get you up." Roughly Matt pulled him by the front of his shirt and not so gently dumped him back into the wheelchair, a keening type scream escaped his lips as his leg and abdomen exploded in to stabbing knifes and hot pokers. "_Matty_ got a little angry that you gave up so soon, he got a little carried away with the bat. _Oh well_ it at least put on a good show for daddy." Shawn's mind pressed fast forward and slowly he raised his head and was looking at his father again. Henry's mouth was taped back again but Shawn could hear his distress as he breathed heavily through his nose. "We were hoping that you would last for a few more rounds till we had to finish." Shawn was powerless as Angela ripped open his shirt and removed it from him.

"_Oh Matty_." Shawn was covered in purple bruises all over his chest and stomach, in some you could make out the individual knuckles. "It's so beautiful." Matt grabbed his wife with one arm and proceeded to make out with her.

"_Dis-gus-ting_." Shawn listed heavily as Matt back handed him.

"Let's finish this so we can get to other things." Matt smiled at his wife and grabbed Shawn from under his arms to pull him to a standing position. Shawn's vision blurred as his leg was jostled. "You know we're not the only ones who did research." Shawn's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You see if they find you alive it's not going to matter." Shawn screamed roughly as Angela slid a knife into the left lower side of his back. It didn't take long before he lost consciousness again. Henry was screaming expletives the whole time at the woman as she stabbed his son but they fell on mute ears. As soon as Shawn fell limp Matt dropped him, the slap of flesh hitting concrete fueled Henry's anger.

Martha walked over to him and stroked his jaw. "I would save my energy dear _Henry_, you don't know how long it's going to be before anyone finds you." The trio walked up the steps and slammed the door shut, Henry could hear as they left the house and as soon as his front door shut he upped his attempts to escape.

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After Buzz couldn't reach Shawn he wasted no time in calling the chief. "Chief this is Buzz, I was trying to get a hold of Shawn because I wanted to talk to him but _well_ I think Shawn is in trouble."

"_We're thinking the same thing too, can you come down to the station?"_

" Yes Chief." Buzz ended the phone call feeling no better than before. "Frannie I think you need to come with me to see if you can help."

"What did the Chief say Buzz."

"She agreed with me." Francine closed her eyes and swallowed heavily.

"I'm so sorry Buzz, if I had known…." Tears formed when she trailed off and Buzz hugged her close.

"_Frannie_ this is NOT your fault, but you can help find him, _OK,_ since you saw who was with him." Francine nodded into his shirt and broke the hug, soon they were in her car and speeding toward the station.

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"Why are we just sitting around if you think Shawn's in trouble."

"Look Guster right now we don't have the whole story so we won't even know where to start.

"Well how 'bout you fill me in on what _you do know."_

Carlton never seen Gus angry before and he would never admit it out loud but it was rather intimidating. He sighed heavily. "Spencer came to the station around three and left around three thirty. Around six I tried calling him to get him to come back to the station but he never answered, the chief instructed me to call you while she called the older Spencer. You are the only one who picked up." He purposely left out why Shawn was at the station and hoped that Gus would over look that.

"Why was Shawn at the station." _So much for hope._

"He was being fired."

"_WHAT!"_ Carlton involuntarily flinched.

"Look Guster it's a long story and we didn't have any other choice, let's just leave it at that."

Gus turned a rather impressive shade of red. "_NO_. You are going to tell me what _THE HELL_ is going on."

"_Detective Lassiter, Gus!"_

_Thank God for small miracles._ "McNab this is not a tea party. What the hell is your wife doing here?" Carlton looked the woman up and down noting how she was Buzz's complete opposite, short, petite, and if he wasn't mistaken her eyes burned with anger at his words.

"She saw who took Shawn." All eyes were on the red head and instead of shrinking as Carlton expected she seemed to get taller.

"Ok tell us what the perp looked like."

"Tall and beefy, dark hair. He and Shawn got into a BMW with two women. One was blonde the other was dark haired like the man."

Carlton huffed. "Well that absolutely gives us nothing."

The woman shot daggers at the detective. "If I see his picture I can point him out."

"Alright, McNab take your wife to the database and have her start looking at photos. Guster you come with me."

Gus and Carlton went straight to Karen's office. "Chief?"

Karen pinched the bridge of her nose. "I called Henry but he's not picking up but that means nothing the man is retired so he could be fishing."

"He was at home earlier." Karen looked up at Gus expectantly. "We were there and when Shawn left he all but begged me to take him to his bike, said he had errands to run." Gus grew angry again. "_If I knew he was getting fired. I would NEVER have let him go._"

Karen rubbed her forehead. "Gus, he printed off a report using McNab's login, McNab got suspended and an IA investigation was opened on every officer Shawn had ever worked with. I didn't have a choice." Realization crossed Gus' face. "_But_ everything was a misunderstanding of sorts and we were trying to call him back."

Gus plopped down in one of the chairs in her office. "Matt Barret."

Karen nodded. "Yes."

"Have you read the report?"

Another nod. "Yes."

"So you know about the history between Henry and Matt."

"Guster, everyone knows that history. The older Spencer started arresting that punk when he was seventeen and in 1995 he assaulted Henry. Henry had two broken ribs and a nasty concussion from it. Barret got five years." A light bulb went off in Carlton's head. "_Chief_ I need Barret's file."

Karen seemed to be following her head detective's train of thought. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

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Henry knew his screams were futile but that didn't stop them, even with a raw throat he screamed. Shawn lay in a slowly growing puddle of blood, the knife was still in his back.

"_mmmmmpppph!"_ Henry stopped his shouting at the noise his son made. "_Dad_?"His voice was rough and almost silent but it was there. Henry shouted through the tape again. Shawn tried to get up but his body wasn't responding so he just lay there. The shouting continued as his vision grayed and he almost gave into unconsciousness again but the smell of smoke wafted over to him. _Dad!_ His father was in danger, he needed to do something. With strength he didn't know he had he pushed himself up his knee, he had to swallow several times as his right leg exploded in pain again. On his left knee he managed to reach his father and tried to unwrap the tape from around one of his arms but his fingers weren't responding like they should have. Henry watched as his son fought through the pain and fumbled with the tape unsuccessfully. He screamed at him to try and get out, to get help but Shawn wasn't listening. The air was quickly becoming thick with smoke and the crackle hiss of fire was becoming louder. Shawn looked at his dad's wild eyes. "_Doesn't matter anyways." _Henry looked confused for a moment but the confusion left as he watched Shawn reach with his left hand for the knife in his back. "_Sorry dad." _Shawn ripped the knife out with a yelp and began to cut away the tape from his father's arm. He could feel the blood flow increase from the stab wound but he needed to make sure his dad was going to be OK. As he got the last bit cut away from Henry's right arm the combination of blood loss, smoke inhalation, and the loss of adrenaline he passed out. Henry shouted his name as he smacked in the concrete again. He ripped his arm loose and thanked God that the knife was laying in his lap, grabbing it he winced at the slick feel of the blood that coated it and then he began to saw the tape away with fervor.

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Karen quickly pulled up the report and printed off the photo as Carlton retrieved McNab and his wife. As they walked through the door she held up the photo. "Francine is this the man you saw with Mr. Spencer?"

Francine nodded. "Yeah he had about fifty more pounds of muscle on him but yeah."

"Thank you."

"You did good Frannie." She beamed at her husband.

"We know the who and the possible why but we don't have the where. Detective put a BOLO out on the BMW, hopefully they will be driving it still." Carlton nodded and left. "McNab you can go home now."

The tall man cleared his throat. "With all due respect Chief, Shawn is my friend and I am _not _ going to leave until he is found."

Karen nodded. "OK then, if your wife would like we can have a unit take her home for you."

Buzz went to agree but was stopped by Francine. "I'm staying too. I said some mean things to Shawn and I am not going till he is safe again."

Karen saw the fire behind her eyes it was the same in Gus' eyes as well and she knew better than to argue. "Alright you and Mr. Guster will be allowed to stay but in the break room…"

"_Chief!"_ Carlton came running into the office. "A fire was just called in at Henry Spencer's home."

"_Son of a bitch."_ Carlton looked surprised at her outburst. Karen shrugged it off, grabbed her gun and all but ran out her office. "McNab, Dobson you're coming with us to Henry Spencer's house." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gus following. "Gus please stay with Francine."

"_The hell I will."_

Karen sighed. "Alright but you stay in the car we don't know what we're going into."

Buzz gave his wife a quick peck. "He'll be OK Frannie, Shawn is _always_ Ok." Francine gave a quick nod and watched as her husband took his gun and badge and left the station with the chief, Carlton, Gus and a couple of other uniforms.

"Please let him be Ok." She played with the cross on her necklace a bit and sit down on a bench near the entrance of the station. From her vantage point she could see as several cars tore out of the parking lot, lights on and sirens blaring.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I was trying to get this up yesterday but the words just failed to come out the way I wanted. On the bright side it's a longer chapter and there is a lot of answers in it.**

Henry coughed and sputtered as he removed the last of the tape from his mouth, fighting the urge to suck in deep breaths he got low next to his son and checked his pulse. It was thready but there, not wanting to leave his son but needing to he ran up the steps and yanked on the door. Without any effort the door swung open and bounced with the force he used. Smoke came pouring down the steps and Henry could feel the heat from the yet to be seen flames. Taking the steps two at a time he made it to his son's side in record time.

Again Henry was forced to do something he didn't want to, he bent over and picked Shawn up from under his arms and began to drag him toward the steps. Shawn was heavier than he looked and the fact that his skin was slick with blood and sweat wasn't helping matters. Slowly he ascended the stairs, each step jostling Shawn and causing his back to bleed more. More than once his bad leg hit a step hard and Shawn would moan roughly even in his unconscious state. "_God kid." _When they finally made it to the landing Henry had to take a quick break and readjust his grip. His eyes were stinging, his lungs burning, and his whole body protested the extra weight he was dragging around but he didn't care, he had to get his son out. He went to drag Shawn toward the back door which was only five feet away but he could feel the heat coming from that direction. Using his memory, which was more reliable than his eyesight at this time, he began the twenty foot trail to his front door.

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Gus had a death grip on the door handle as Carlton pulled on to Henry Spencer's block, from here you could see the smoke as it tainted the air. "Holy crap!"

Carlton stayed mute as he accelerated faster, the cars behind them left in the dust. As they pulled up outside Shawn's childhood home it felt like a scene from the movies was happening. The back side of the house was ablaze, smoke dirtied the air, fire trucks were everywhere, firemen were running around getting hoses ready, and the neighbors were standing in the street, watching. Carlton barely had time to put the car in park before Gus had jump out of the passenger side and had tried to run to the house. Carlton's long stride allowed for him to catch up with the younger man.

"Guster!" He kept a hand clamped on the man's shoulder as he spun. "SOMEONE MAY BE IN THERE!" Two firemen were already geared up and approaching the house with an axe in hand when the front door exploded outwards. Henry Spencer was dragging the unconscious form of his son out of the burning home. "**DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP!**" The men who had frozen when the door open sprung into motion, one took over the burden of Shawn's weight while the other tried to guide Henry. The older man waved them off and followed his son.

Both Gus and Carlton ran toward the stretcher that Shawn was being placed on. "_What _the hell happened?" Everyone looked in the direction of the question.

"_Karen_ they beat the crap outta him then stabbed him." Karen looked at her former partner and saw how much a toll this had on him; he was red faced, breathing hard, and his eyes were haunted.

"Henry maybe you should sit down."

Henry glared at her. "SIT DOWN! That's all I've done while they did this." He motioned at his son while the paramedic were starting the IV and affixing an oxygen mask. "They taped me to a wheel chair, _Karen._ They forced me to **watch!**" Henry was breathing heavily and he could feel his blood pressure rise. "Then to top it off _Shawn_ pulled the damn knife out of his back to SAVE _ME!_" Everyone was mute in the vicinity, the only sounds they could hear was the hissing of the dying fire as it was put out. The paramedics were working on Shawn to get him stable enough to transport, Henry's eyes never left the sight of his son. "_He…..he said he was sorry and then pulled the knife out to cut me loose._"

"We need to move, NOW." The attention was then turned to the medics as they ran over the asphalt with Shawn in tow.

Henry watched as they loaded his son in an ambulance and speed away. "Mr. Spencer he's going to be alright." Henry looked up and met the scared eyes of his son's best friend.

"He has to be." Henry shut his eyes to try and control his breathing but it was failing. If anything he felt his breathing get harsher and the pain in his arm multiplied. "_Crap."_ He felt as he stumbled and he prepared to have his ass meet the ground but all he felt was two strong arms grab him and help him lie in the grass.

"I think he's having a heart attack!" Henry opened his eyes and everything moved in a blur. "Mr. Spencer can you hear me?" He would have nodded at the young man but the black rushed in on his vision and he knew no more.

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Juliet O'Hara had perhaps the longest day off she has ever had. She had gone shopping, gotten a haircut, mani-pedi, and to top it off she went out to eat at new restaurant. Letting her bags hit the floor of her living room she threw the keys onto the table next to the door. "_phew!"_ Normally she didn't take a week day off but with having the head detective as a partner she had been swamped with work for almost two years straight. She even had turned off her cell phone so her day could go without interruption, Carlton could handle one day without her. As she turned her phone on she poured a glass of wine and waited for the startup screen to run though. As soon as it was done her phone started to ring like crazy signifying voicemails and missed calls.

_Twenty-five missed calls and ten voicemails._ Almost all of them were from Carlton. "So help me if it's about his damn paperwork, I'll kill him." As she listened to the messages she went from very angry to very worried. The last voicemail had her running out the door and her VW screaming out of her parking spot. The message playing in her head over and over.

"_Juliet, this is Gus…..ummmm…We found Shawn at Henry's but…but he's been hurt. Juliet, he's been stabbed in the back. He's in surgery now. Mr. Spencer had a heart attack after he pulled Shawn from the fire."_

That's all Gus got out before she could hear some background voices and then the click of him hanging up. There were so many questions in her head and too many answers. _Shawn's stabbed. There was a fire. Henry had a heart attack._

"What the _hell _happened while I was out?"

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When Henry came to he expected to be in pain or at least surrounded by worried faces. "_?"_ Well one worried face and being pain free was better.

" 'us." He licked his overly dry lips and went to remove the oxygen mask that was covering his mouth and nose. His attempts were smacked away but the same hands that stopped him removed the mask and stuck a straw in his mouth. Henry opened his eyes slowly as he drank and adjusted to the world around him; the room had the standard two chairs, heart monitor, and IV. The not so standard was the uniform sitting in one of the chairs watching him intently as Gus gave him water and elevated his bed.

"You had us all scared for a minute there, ."

Henry spit out the straw and licked his lips again. "_Shawn?_" The officer in the chair looked down at his feet and Gus looked stricken. "_Oh God."_ He shut his eyes and prayed that the men would take the clue and leave to let a father grieve in peace.

"He's alive, but just." Henry opened his eyes. "Matt really did a number on him, almost all of his ribs were broken, he has several internal bleeds, his leg is going to require intensive physical therapy but the worst is his back." Gus closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Spit it out Gus."

"They hit his kidney and the doctor is going to have to go back in and try to save it."

Henry didn't know what to say just hours earlier he had told his son that he wished he would leave and it looked like it was going to come true, but not the way he said. "I want to speak to his doctor." Gus nodded and the uniform in the chair jumped up.

"I'll get her, besides she's your doctor too."

Henry raised a hand and the officer halted his steps. "I want to thank you….?"

"Officer McNab."

"McNab huh?" The tall officer nodded. "You still came after what Shawn did to you?"

"Mr. Spencer I was never angry, just hurt but it's worked out anyways. Shawn talked to IA and I am officially reinstated at midnight." He checked his watch and smiled. "Was officially reinstated."

Henry saw how tired the officer was and wanted to tell him that he should go home but he also saw the look of determination the young man had. "Well thank you for catching me so my ass wouldn't meet the ground violently."

McNab nodded. "I'll go get that doctor." When the man left Henry took notice that there were two more uniforms on his door he raised his eyebrows at Gus.

"They're still at large. A BOLO has been placed on his BMW and I think every officer in Santa Barbara is either looking for them or here for protection duty." Henry started to have trouble breathing he started to cough and sputter. Gus handed him a weird looking type cup and looked away, when Henry spit whatever he had just coughed up he grimaced.

"Well that's gross."

"Well that's to be expected after all the smoke you inhaled." Both Gus and Henry looked up and saw a very young doctor come into the room. She whipped out a biohazard bag and put the cup in it. "I want the lab to take a look at this." Henry just kept staring at the _girl_ she looked to be in her twenties, definitely too young to be a doctor.

"I'm Doctor Malone and I have been taking care of you and your son." She leaned over and put the oxygen mask back on. "Keep this on_. Anyways_ both you and your son were suffering from smoke inhalation which is why you're coughing up this lovely black stuff." She jiggled the cup around causing Gus to gag. She smiled at his reaction. "You experienced a major heart attack and I had to do a heart cath. Your attack was caused by stress and although some of your heart was damaged beyond repair the rest will be OK, you also have a minor concussion and burns from a stun gun. A few weeks in here and you'll be just fine." The door opened and McNab, Lassiter, and Karen joined them. Henry deftly ignored them as they either settled into chairs or stood.

Henry looked at the doctor quizzically. "_How old are you?"_ His voice was muffled by the mask but everyone heard him and Karen tried to stifle a giggle.

She smiled broadly. "True I am young Mr. Spencer but I assure you they called me in special when you two arrived." She looked at the others in the room and gave Henry a questioning look.

"It's alright for them to hear this, they're going to need it for their report and I don't feel like repeating myself."

The doctor took the invitation. "Shawn is not doing too well_, I'm afraid_, the smoke inhalation was the least concerning of all his injuries." Everyone leaned in a bit to listen to what the doctor had to say. "When he came in he had severe bruising to his chest and abdomen. I went in and fixed all the bleeds that were too big to heal on their own and two of his ribs had to surgically placed." "His kidney is what worries me, normally I would remove it and let the other kidney take over but in this case I can't."

"And _why_ can't you?"

"He only has the one kidney and while he could live almost indefinitely on dialysis he has an advanced directive stating he doesn't want that."

Henry was trying to catch up, he took the mask back off and when the doctor tried to put it back on he shot her a look that had her recoiling. "Why does he only have one kidney and what's with this advanced directive?"

She chewed on her lip. "Since Shawn is an adult I can't tell you why he only has one kidney but his proxy can." She stepped back and pushed Gus forward a bit who looked genuinely scared.

Gus rubbed the back of his neck. "_Well_ you see Mr. Spencer about six months after you left Shawn came to visit and he was in a motorcycle wreck."

"_That __**damn bike!**_**" **Gus put a hand on his arm effectively stopping the rant before it started.

"It wasn't major he just needed an x-ray to check his hand. He met a nurse that he thought was gorgeous and _well_ he decided to get a job as an orderly so that he could pursue her."

Carlton sighed loudly. "Hurry up Guster."

Henry could've sworn she heard Gus growl at the detective. "_While_ he working here he met a girl who was about sixteen." He smiled at the memory a bit. "Shawn said that she was some kind of genius. She had already graduated pre-med from college but then she got really sick. Her kidneys were shutting down and she had this weird marker in her blood that gave her a slim to none chance of getting a kidney." Gus sighed loudly. "Everyone, _including Shawn_, got tested. Shawn was a 95% match, the next day he was in surgery giving her one of his kidneys. He stayed for six weeks with me, he had me draw up that living will because he never wanted to go through dialysis if his other kidney failed or was injured beyond repair. Then was off again." Henry was struck mute.

"_Guster_ are you trying to tell us that Spencer gave up a kidney to bed a nurse." Carlton pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Of all the asinine….."_

Gus growled again and Carlton's mouth closed with a click. "_**No**_. That nurse made it perfectly clear that she was dedicated to her husband a few days in. He donated the kidney because he said this girl was so hopeful and someone with that much hope deserved to live." Gus smiled. "We never did find out if the girl was OK with Shawn's kidney or not. I like to think that she went on to be one of the best doctors people have ever seen."

The room was so silent you could hear the hiss of the oxygen as it ran into the mask. The doctor stepped forward again and Henry noted her eyes shining a bit as she gave Gus' arm a squeeze. "She got into John's Hopkins, got married two years ago, today she found out she was pregnant and she is trying her damndest to save your son, Mr. Spencer." All eyes were on the woman as she spoke. "If it wasn't for Shawn I wouldn't have lived to see my seventeenth birthday. I am _not_ going to give up on your son, _I promise_." Wiping a tear away from her cheek she smiled. "_And_ I'm _**not**_ going to let your son give up on himself." She cleared her throat a little and before he had time to argue she put the oxygen back on him and walked out the door without another word.

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Juliet navigated the halls toward Henry Spencer's room, at first she tried to go to Shawn's but they said he was getting prepped for surgery, _again_. As she rounded the corner to the hall that Henry's room was on she could hear his loud booming voice. "_**Karen that son of a bitch may have killed my son! I'm not going to lay in this bed, idly.**_" Juliet stopped just outside the door and showed the two uniforms her badge. She could hear a muffled feminine voice, which she guessed was the chief's. One of the uniforms opened the door and wished her good luck as she entered.

" 'Bout time you joined us O'Hara." Juliet bristled at her partner's words.

"_Carlton_." He flinched at her look. "My cell was off all day, I came as soon as I heard the voicemails." She turned her attention to the man in the bed. "How are you Mr. Spencer?"

An indigent look crossed Henry's face for a moment then it softened. "_I'm fine_ but they won't let me out of this _damn_ bed." Juliet flashed him a smile and gave his arm a comforting squeeze.

"I tried to see Shawn but they said he was going to surgery, _again._" Juliet wasn't talking to anyone in particular. "Does anyone care to tell me what the _hell happened."_

Several people began to talk at once.

"…..he used my login to print a report."

"….I didn't have a choice but to fire…"

"….they beat the crap outta him…"

"…..the neighbor was burning brush and it got outta control….."

"….don't know if he's going to live…"

Juliet was done with the assault of word. Pressing two fingers to her lips she whistled loud enough for everyone to stop talking and look at her, the officers from outside even peaked in.

"Carlton you fill me in with what you know. Mr. Spencer get to feeling better. Chief we'll get this bastard. McNab you look exhausted get some rest. And Gus keep us posted." Everyone's mouth dropped open and slowly they nodded or said a quiet 'yes' to her. Juliet gave another squeeze to Henry's arm and walked out of the room with Carlton hot on her trail.


	9. Chapter 9

Gus had followed Juliet and Carlton at Henry's request. "_Juliet, Lassiter wait up_!"

"Guster if you haven't noticed we're busy."

Gus bit his tongue, despite how _angry_ the detective had kept making him tonight he knew that he was the greatest hope for catching the people who nearly killed his adopted brother. He sighed deeply. "I know but I was wondering if you would like the notes I and Shawn took on Matt."

Carlton started to walk away. "_Well_ catch up Guster." Gus obliged. "Do you have the notes? Or?"

"They're at Psych." Carlton nodded and they headed out.

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"Scapel."

Doctor Samantha Malone started with an incision that elongated the stab wound. Her brain on autopilot she began to dig through the muscle and other tissue to get to Shawn's kidney.

"Retraction."

She couldn't believe that the man who had saved her life eight years ago was again on the operating table getting kidney surgery. It didn't seem right.

"More light please."

When she was sixteen Shawn was twenty-four and despite being young and mostly carefree he still did something so 'adult.' When she was told that a 95% match was found she was elated, when she found out it was the orderly that spent most of his time ogling the nurses she was devastated. There was no reason for this man, that probably didn't even know her first name, to literally give a piece of himself to her.

"More sponges. Clamp."

But he did and because of this generous act she was able to go to medical school, get married, and start a family. It was some sick twist of fate that the same operation that gave her a second chance on life might spell the end for Shawn.

"_Suture! Clamp! Suction! Hurry!"_

As she got older she would think of Shawn from time to time and when he began showing up in the papers as 'psychic detective extraordinaire' she knew that the man was so much more.

"Someone close. I'm going to talk to his family."

As she made her way to Henry Spencer's room she sent a silent prayer to whatever being watched over people like her, people like Shawn. People who were greater than they would ever admit, who lived each day like it was their last, who smiled when it rained, and celebrated everything. From the outside many people would say Sam was just another boring doctor but they would never know the true Samantha Malone.

"Mr. Spencer I need to talk to you about Shawn's operation."

Just as many would never get to know the real Shawn Spencer, although his life seemed more interesting to the observer.

"I tried Mr. Spencer but the kidney was too far damaged."

And because of her many people would never get the chance to do more than scratch the surface of the personality that was Shawn Spencer.

"_I'm so sorry."_

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Buzz was in the hallway, on the phone, updating Francine on Shawn's condition when he noticed Shawn's doctor leaving Henry's room. "Frannie I just spotted Shawn's doctor. I'll call you back. Ok. I love you too. Bye honey."

When he entered the hospital room Henry was staring at the wall. "You know when I heard that you got suspended because of my son I told him I hoped that he would leave." He swallowed deeply. "I accused him of only thinking about himself. I _couldn't_ have been further from the truth."

McNab was pretty sure what the doctor had told Henry but he needed to hear it to make it real. "_Mr. Spencer?"_

Henry's eyes flicked to the rookie officer. "The kidney was too far damaged. She had to remove it or Shawn would have bled to death." He gave a mirthless laugh. "At least this way we get a week to say goodbye."

"_Can't they…"_

"He has some strange marker in his blood that like only one percent of the population has. They already took my blood, but they weren't hopeful." Henry turned back to the wall. "That kid always had to stand out one way or another."

McNab felt tears sting his eyes as he watched the man in front of him slowly crumble. He knew as an officer of the law he was supposed to push his emotions to the back and deal with them later, but this was _Shawn_ the very same man who saved his life before his wedding, the man who solved the unsolvable and always wore a smile while he did it. How many times had he seen Shawn get a gun pointed at him? Shot at? Threatened? Sometimes he would be worse for wear but _nothing_ Buzz ever fathomed for the man was close to this. If he had only figured it out quicker, got his wife to the station faster, answered the _damn_ door when he heard the knock.

"_Dammit."_ Buzz gave Henry one last look and quietly left the room. As he dialed his wife's number he wasn't sure how he was going to tell her but he be _damned_ if he wasn't going to try, _something,_ to fix it_._ At the sleepy 'hello' he couldn't help but smile a bit. "Frannie, I hate to do this but can you come to the hospital?"

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Gus left Carlton and Juliet in the car as he ran in to the Psych office, as he flicked on the light he was greeted with the tower that Shawn had built and inexplicably fortified with bands of bubble wrap and what looked like one of Gus' good silk ties. Normally he would have gotten angry that Shawn decided to use one of his ties for something as stupid as this tower but tonight, or really this morning as he checked his watch, he couldn't help but feel guilty. When Shawn first told him of the case, Gus saw the reason why he was taking it but a little niggle in the back of his head kept doubt, _and not just about Matt Barret_. Although he had told Shawn that he believed that people could change, he was always waiting for the day that he would find a note on Psych's door saying goodbye. Even after being here for longer than two years Gus always expected for him to get bored and leave.

When he had pulled up outside of Psych to drop Shawn off he knew his friend was conflicted but instead of asking what was wrong he left with '_time to get to my real job.'_ Shawn had a genuine look of hurt when he turned around and grabbed his notes but Gus, again, ignored his friend. When Shawn left the blueberry without as much as a goodbye Gus was grateful he wasn't being pulled along to whatever Shawn had planned next. "_Damn._" Gus should've been there for his best friend, should've stopped Matt from taking him, should've been as good of a friend that Shawn had been to him. Gus couldn't help but think of all the times that Shawn saved his life, true Shawn was usually the reason it was in danger but Gus was nobody's puppet he knew what he was getting into when he followed his crazy adopted brother.

He found what he needed and as he exited he added his nameplate to the tower and smiled. He thought of how much Shawn had _truly_ changed, how it all started eight years ago when he donated a kidney to a complete stranger, and how the changes were so subtle he missed them. Turning the light out he whispered to no one in particular. "_Yeah people can change."_ And this time he meant it.

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As Gus searched the Psych office for the notes Shawn had taken Carlton was left with his very confused partner. "Ok you care to tell me just what happened today?"

Carlton turned down the radio chatter and ran a hand over his tired face. "Spencer printed up a report on McNab's login. McNab got suspended because of it and IA opened an investigation with every officer Spencer had worked with. The chief didn't have any other choice but to fire him for the giant breach of security." He sighed. "Apparently Spencer had come to the station for the pure reason of fixing what he broke, but we didn't know that. After he left the station he went to McNab's to apologize but McNab's wife wouldn't allow it, she even said she smacked him one." He turned his attention to the building. "_What's taking him so long?"_

"_Carlton."_

Attention back to his partner. "Well from what we gathered from both the older Spencer and McNab's wife the younger Spencer was taken from McNab's apartment around four. Henry said they were in his basement for about two hours while Matt beat Spencer and broke his leg with a bat. Angela Barret was the one who stabbed him, said that it wouldn't matter if they found him alive. While this was happening we were trying to reach Spencer as per the chief's request. When the calls were unsuccessful we called Henry and Guster. Guster was the only one picked up and while I trying to get a locale on Spencer the Chief was talking with McNab who expressed his concern about the situation. After McNab arrived at the station his wife started to look through the database and I went to talk to the chief. Guster is actually the one who made it all click in my head and as soon as the ID was made positive a BOLO was put out on the BMW Angela Barret drives. Just as I released the BOLO a call came in."

"The fire."

Carlton nodded. "We got there as fast as we could but by the time we did half the home was engulfed in flames."

"I'm confused, did Matt set the fire?"

"No, actually it was a fluke. The neighbor was burning brush in his back yard and some of the hot ash landed on Spencer's porch, causing the fire. If it wasn't for it, though, we might not have come to Spencer's home for days see as Henry likes to fish for a week at a time and always has someone drive him to the dock so people won't know he's not at home."

Juliet put her hand over her mouth and fought the urge to throw up. If they had waited days, Henry would have probably been Ok but Shawn would have definitely been dead. "_Oh God!" _Carlton gave her a sympathetic look, well as sympathetic as Carlton can get. She studied her partner and saw just how uncomfortable he was, more than he should be. "_Carlton_, What aren't you tell me?"

Although they have only been partners for two years there is a reason she was chosen to be his, he can never get anything past her studious blue eyes. "I said some things to him."

"_Ok?"_

Carlton closed his eyes and prepared for the smack, punch, _the .45 in-between the eyes_. "I told him if I saw his face again at the station it better be under a sheet in the morgue."

Instead of an exclamation there was silence from his partner for about a minute. "You wouldn't feel guilty about that _unless_." She took a deep breath. "_Unless_ there's a real possibility that Shawn can _die._" The last word left in a squeak and Carlton realized that she had no idea to the extent of the man's injuries just that he was going into surgery again and although it was mentioned when to her in the hospital room by Gus she probably couldn't hear it over the others.

"O'Hara, Spencer was going into surgery to see if they can fix his kidney, if not, then they will have to remove it and he has a living will stating he doesn't want dialysis."

Juliet's face relaxed a little. "Well he won't need it the other kidney will take over, he may be a little worse for wear for a while as the kidney adjusts but he'll be fine. _Jeez Carlton_, you had me scared there."

"_O'Hara."_

"What?"

"He only has the one kidney."

"_What? How?"_

"He donated it, long story."

"_Oh."_ Juliet's face fell again and she turned to the Psych building, Carlton could hear as she sniffled a bit. "What _is_ taking him so long?"

"O'Hara look at me." She did. "You have no guilt in this, you're one of the _few_ people who don't. I mean if I hadn't about thrown him down the steps and laughed as he stumbled I might have noticed a car following him."

"There's no way you know they followed him from the station."

Carlton pinched the bridge of his nose. "But we don't _know that,_ do we? I mean if I had done my damn job then I would have noticed, _something_."

She put a comforting hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. "From what I understand you were the one who put all the pieces together. If it wasn't for you then the BOLO wouldn't have been placed and now almost every officer in Santa Barbara is looking for the car and the people who did this."

_But you didn't see how genuinely crushed he was and I just pushed him further._ Feigning a smile. "You're right O'Hara, thank you. And what I said I meant, it was your day off. You weren't there while we kicked him as he was down but you'll be there when we catch these sick twists."

"You're right Carlton." _Except you're wrong. While Shawn was getting the life beat out of him I shopped till the stores closed and ate a late dinner. I was having the time of my life as Shawn was fighting for his._ Plastering a smile on. " Thank you."

"Here comes Guster."

The partners watched as the man jogged toward the car and climbed into the backseat. "Here's everything Shawn scribbled down about Matt and his family."

"Let's go to the station where the light is better."

Carlton nodded and pulled out of the parking lot. They rode in silence till it was broken by the ring of Gus' phone. "It's Buzz." He answered and Juliet gaged his expression trying to get some kind of clue on how Shawn was, Gus betrayed nothing. "Thank you Buzz."

"_Gus?"_

"The kidney was too far damaged." Whatever had his expression blank a minute ago fell and his face crumpled. "_Shawn's going to die, unless they find a donor._"

The weight of his words pulled down on them as they drove toward the station.

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Sam had cried herself dry, she was sure of it. "_Honey?" _ She heard her husband voice as he came in late from the research lab. A small smile crossed her face.

"_Kevin."_ Her husband came into their bedroom and saw how upset his wife was.

"Everything Ok?"

Sam could just shake her head 'no' as she grabbed hold of the man she loved. "_Remember the guy I told you about? The one who gave me his kidney?"_

Kevin smiled a bit because although his wife was clearly distressed, if it wasn't for that man she would never have become his wife. She wouldn't be having his child. "Of course. He's the reason you're here today."

Sam took a shuddering breath. "He was on my table tonight. Someone had beaten him and stabbed him. They hit his remaining kidney." Her face fell and tears she didn't know she had sprung to his eyes. "_I-I couldn't save it. He's going to die and it's my fault._"

Kevin hugged his wife tightly. "No, it's not. They called you in because you're the best at what you do. If you couldn't save the kidney then _no one_ could have."

"_But if he hadn't given me…."_

Kevin broke the hug and held her at arm's length. "Don't. Think. That. Ever. He choose to give it to you because he saw what I see in you. You're the smartest, most beautiful woman I know. I've never met the man but I thank him daily for you." He put a hand on her still flat belly. "_For both of you_."

Sam nodded and swiped at her tears. "It's just not right."

"No. It's not and on the risk of getting your mind into overdrive what can be done?" He laid down and patted the bed.

Sam joined him. "Well it takes forty-eight hours for results to come back and he has about a week. I guess we can test as many people as possible."

Kevin pulled her tight. "That's my girl. Now let's get some sleep."

He felt his wife relax in his embrace and slowly fall asleep. He kissed the top of her head and got out of the bed, he had some phone calls to make.


	10. Chapter 10

Buzz had to admit he had a couple of secret motives to asking Francine to come to the hospital. First off he didn't think, no he knew, that he couldn't tell her the fate of Shawn over the phone. She was also very good with people who didn't like to express themselves, _like Henry_. And the last reason was he wanted to get to the station and help with the search for the people who did this to his friend.

When he saw the fuzzy red hair coming up the hall way he couldn't stop the smile. "So he's ok." Buzz heard the hoping, _almost pleading, _way she asked and he felt his smile fall. "_So, not ok."_

Buzz shook his head. "No. The kidney was too far damaged; if they hadn't removed it then he would have bled to death." Francine's face fell. "But they took some of Henry's blood to see if they are a match." Buzz purposely didn't tell he that there wasn't much chance that they find a match; he didn't want that to weigh on her.

Francine sighed in relief and smiled. "That's good. So what did you need me for?"

He walked over to Henry's room with her in tow. "I want to get back to the station to help Detective Lassiter and Detective O'Hara find the people who did this." Francine saw so much more in her husband's eyes than he was telling her. She saw the guilt, worry, and most of all the _anger_. "And I want someone besides a uniform to keep Mr. Spencer company." She nodded, gave his arm a squeeze and went into Henry's room as her husband walked down the corridor.

She settled into a chair directly across from the bed and as Henry slept fitfully, she opened her purse and pulled out knitting needles and yarn.

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Gus wanted to leave the station as soon as they arrived but he knew he would be the only one of them that would be able to even start deciphering Shawn's scrawling. Everything they had plus the info that CSI had taken from the basement was spread out over the interrogation room. Almost a gallon of coffee had to have been consumed by the occupants of the room as they, _yet again,_ poured over the information.

"There is absolutely nothing in these."

Carlton hated to admit it but Gus was right. "Seems that way Guster. Have we got anything back on the BOLO?"

"No." Juliet ran a hand over her tired face, smearing her makeup, and sighed. "There's nothing. The units that are watching Martha Barret's house have said all is quiet. Same from the other watching Matt's and Angela's. It's like they fell off the face of the earth."

No one wanted to admit it but it was time to come to a resignation. "We all need to get some sleep." Both Gus and Juliet looked up at Carlton. "Us not sleeping and looking over these notes a billion times is not helping matters. The Chief said she was going to talk to the press at eight AM." He looked at his watch. "In five hours all of Santa Barbara will be looking for these people." He sighed. "I just hoped that they were stupid enough to stay in town."

"What if they're not?"

"Guster it had been two hours from the time they left Spencer's house to the time we got the call of the fire. If they were leaving town they were already long gone."

Gus wanted to get angry at the words but he knew that Carlton was right and as he looked over the files, photos, and notes. "_I know._" His voice sounding like a ten year old's at the realization. "_It's…..it's just that he's the closest thing I have to a brother."_ He sat down heavily on the floor of the room and dropped his head against the wall. "_He's gonna die. Shawn's gonna die."_

Those words, those six words, struck deeper than any wound any of them have ever had. The man who came crashing into their lives, who made everything a bit, _ok tons,_ more exciting and so much crazier was going to _die._ Never again was he going to burst through the doors of the entrance and convulse around the station, make an eighties reference, and then solve cases with insane assumptions. Gus stood up and slowly trudged out of the room.

Juliet followed Gus leaving Carlton alone with the papers and figuring that Juliet was either going to drive Gus home or have some heart to heart he began to clean up the files. When he reached the CSI report of Henry Spencer's home he clenched his jaw, there were photos of everything from the fire on the porch to the crime scene in the basement where Shawn and his father were kept. The men were taped to wheelchairs and then they were placed where they could see one another. The one chair had the right leg extended and the metal was bent by some great force, they hadn't found the bat but if Carlton had a guess it would either be broken or splintered. Almost directly in the middle of the chairs was a puddle of blood, _of Shawn's blood,_ and drag marks that led to the other chair where another puddle of blood had accumulated.

'_He pulled the knife out of his back and cut me loose._' Carlton shut Henry's words out of his head; he had to look at this like it wasn't personal because when things got personal, screw ups happened. Sighing he closed up the file and added it to the stack. He wasn't lying when he said sleep was needed so he took the files and plopped them on his desk. When he left the station he noted that Juliet's car was gone and Gus' was still there, he just hoped that she was taking him home to get some sleep.

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Juliet had fully intended to take Gus to his apartment but somehow they ended up at the hospital. Gus had fallen asleep in the passenger side but it was the sleep of someone troubled, Juliet caught glimpses of his face hardening and his brow furrowing as he slept. When she parked the car she sat for a moment and tried to relax, through the windshield she looked up at the hospital. The building seemed to grow since she was here last, it looked like something straight out of horror film, to her it resembled the mental hospital where she was almost cut to piece by that crazy bitch. As her mind wandered to that day she couldn't help but smile because of the way Shawn looked at her when she was wearing her sorority girl outfit, it reminded her of that wolf on those Saturday morning cartoons. As tears pricked her eyes she closed them and took several deep breaths to try and relax.

After a couple of minutes she decided to wake Gus up. "_Hmmm…five more minutes mom."_

"Gus."

Gus snorted and was awake in less than ten seconds. "Everything Ok? Where are we? Weren't we going to my house? Did they find them?" _Well mostly awake._

"Gus." Juliet reached out and squeezed his arm to bring him to the present. Gus' eyes cleared up as he looked into her eyes. "I was going to bring you home but somehow we ended up here." She motioned with her hand and Gus looked up at the hospital. "I was thinking, _maybe_, with my badge we can get in and see Shawn."

Gus gave a sleepy nod and soon they were walking toward the entrance.

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Carlton pulled up outside the hospital entrance and pulled the key from the ignition. "What am I doing?" Usually when Carlton went on autopilot when he drove he ended up at either the station or his home and seeing as he was at the station when he started he should be in the driveway of his house now. But he was staring up at the hospital where both Spencer men were currently residing in, one was going to leave mostly ok and the other…..

Well he just didn't want to think about that, _not right now._ Looking at his watch he decided that he was just going to stay up the rest of the night and when morning 'officially' came he would shower and drink a pot of coffee to fake a full night's sleep. _Not like it's the first time I've done it._ But it was the first time he had done it worrying over Shawn and shaking his head to clear it he walked up to the hospital.

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Kevin had just hung up with his good friend when heard his wife come into the kitchen. "Who were you talking to, honey?"

Sam smiled as he motioned for him to sit in his lap. "Just an old friend from college." She ran her fingers through his hair as he talked. "Remember Matt?"

"Yeah, he runs PR for MSNBC now doesn't he?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah well I called some people I know in the PR department for the Santabarbara Channel Six news and they told me that there is a press conference to be held at eight in the morning concerning the assault on Shawn."

"_And?"_

Kevin sighed and looked into Sam's eyes studying them for any spark of anger, he found none. "Well I call Matt and he is going to call some of his friends at ABC, CBS, and USA Today. They are going to come to the conference tomorrow and have the report go country wide."

Sam stood and laughed. "_Oh my God!_ You know how many people that's going to reach? Someone, somewhere may come forward and be a match for Shawn." She wrapped her arms around Kevin's neck and hugged him closely.

"That's what I was hoping for. You never know." He sighed as Sam broke the hug and started to get ready. "Where do you think you're going at three in the morning?"

Sam had a determined look about her. "Well someone may come forward but it is going to take longer than a week and I need to convince Shawn that he needs to do some rounds of dialysis. _I just can't lose this one. I can't lose him._"

Kevin nodded and started to get ready himself. "Well if I'm right your lab is going to be overflowing with people getting blood tested and so I'm going to volunteer my services."

Sam gave him a kiss and soon they were leaving for the hospital.


	11. Chapter 11

Shawn was in a _**lot**_ of pain, too much pain to be dead or at the hospital. _Then why do I smell disinfectant?_ He needed to know just where in the hell he was so he opened his eyes and allowed some time for his vision to unclear. A brunette woman with lime green eyes that held an intelligent look about them was staring back into his hazel. Shawn's eyes widened at the sight before him.

"_Awww crap, I'm dead."_ The rasp in his voice didn't go unnoticed but he ignored it._ "Why are you here? I'm sure I would've gone to hell."_

The woman looked like she tried to hide a smirk. "You are most definitely not dead."

"_Oh."_

"Yeah."

Shawn looked around his room and noticed several things were in it but none of them were visitor. "_Soooo…..are you some sort of drug induced hallucination or…."_

She laughed. "Shawn I am most assuredly real. Your kidney worked and I became a doctor. I work here now."

"_Oh."_ He wanted to cough to clear his throat but his chest was on fire, so he settled for the obnoxious and disgusting clearing of the throat. "_What brings to my neck of the woods then?" _Shawn couldn't believe he was looking at a genuine ghost of his past. The same girl who he gave his kidney to was busy study him to the point he was sure this is what a famous painting felt like. "_Sam?"_

"Sorry it's just the other two times I've seen you; you were on an operating table."

"_About that?"_

Sam began to pace back and forth through the room. "Well you have pins in your legs, I surgically placed two ribs, fixed several bleeds and had to work on your kidney." Shawn looked at her expectantly. "It was too far damaged and now I'm here to try and convince you to do dialysis."

"_NO."_

"Don't be an ass." She sat down next to his bed and pointed at the door. "There are cops filling the lab right now getting tested. The ones who haven't been tested are looking for the people who have done this. I've seen cops arrive in their PJs to see if they are a match we've even had an officer so exhausted he fell asleep during his test." She sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Don't make your father's and my efforts worthless Shawn Spencer."

Shawn's head perked up at the mention of his father, he was so shocked by seeing Sam he had almost forgotten. "_Is he Ok?"_

"Who?"

"_My dad."_

She sat on his bed and made sure he was looking her straight in the eyes. "He won't be if you die, but yeah he's fine. He had a few scrapes and bruises the heart attack is the only reason he's here."

"_Heart ATTACK!" _It wasn't as loud as he wanted but he worked with what he had.

"Yeah he pulled you out of that burning home and all the stresses he had been through caught up with him and his heart."

Shawn shut his eyes and shook his head. "_He should have just left me."_

For the second time in as many days Shawn was smacked by an angry woman. His eyes sprung open and saw the fire in Sam's eyes. "How _**dare you!**_** I have seen that man in near tears over you."**__ Her finger was shaking as she jabbed at him. "I have seen off duty officers come and post by your and your father's door to make sure the sick sons of bitches who did this don't come anywhere near this hospital." Angry tears began to roll down her face. "I've seen people calling in favors to get your story known so you won't die." She swiped at her cheeks. "You _**do not**_get to give up that easily."

Shawn was, needless to say, shocked out of gourd. "_What?_"

Sam took a shuddering breath to calm herself. "Yeah."

"_But."_

She raised a hand to stop him. "I know all about how you screwed up and almost got an officer fired. I know what was said to you and I know how much that hurts." She leaned in real close. "But let me tell you something, Shawn _**Henry**_ Spencer, life is too short to dwell on what is said in a fit of anger." Shawn opened his mouth to interrupt. "_Bu….bu…bu_..I am **not** through. There are a lot of people who love you flaws and all. _Including me. _ I would not be here if you were selfish. I wouldn't have gone to medical school, met my husband or even have my seventeenth birthday if it wasn't for you." She held up a black and white photo. "This person right here wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you. So suck it up and realize that actions, _**will always**_, speak louder than words and there is a lot of action going on right now." Shawn's eyes darted from the ultrasound to Sam and back again.

"_Please tell me that's your ultrasound and not one of my past's flings."_

Sam couldn't help the giggle that escaped at his wide eyed question. "It's mine I'm due in about seven months. If it wasn't for you this little person wouldn't have happened." She glanced down at her watch. "It's almost eight." She flipped on the television onto a channel playing Saturday morning cartoons.

Shawn was amused by her actions and laughed a little. "_Ow."_ He curled some when his ribs were jostled. "_Why do I hurt so much?"_

Sam sat down in a chair and smiled innocently at him. "Simple I wanted you to be awake for this so I….." She pulled out a syringe. "Took this from the nurse as I was coming in. You'll get it after."

"_After what?" _

"You'll see." She crossed her legs, sighed and dropped her head back to the back of the chair.

"_I have a question."_

"What's that?"

"_Who fell asleep?"_

"hmmmm?" Shawn could see she had closed her eyes and her breathing was getting slower.

"_Before you fall asleep tell me who fell asleep getting the test."_

Sam snapped her head forward. "Sorry. Ummmmm…it was that tall officer. I think he's the one who got suspended."

"_Oh. Wow."_

"Yeah." Sam studied Shawn and saw just how awestruck he was by the whole situation. She decided to let him continue working this one through.

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Henry woke to an almost silent room. _Click,click. Pause. Click, click. Pause._ He opened his eyes to see a mess of red hair attached to perhaps the most petite woman he had ever seen. Said woman was knitting away at what looked like a pair of booties. He removed his oxygen mask and took a deep breath to only end it with coughing that felt like his lungs were going to leap out of his chest. As he leaned forward in the bed and tried to cough up whatever gross substance was currently lodged in his throat he felt small, but powerful, hands rubbing his back. After coughing for what felt like forever he lay back and the red head handed him a wad of tissue to spit into. "Thank you?"

The red head took the wadded up tissue and threw it away. "Francine McNab." She poured Henry a glass of water, which he took and drank as if he had been in the desert for the past few days. As he drank the red head sat down and began knitting again and recognition dawned.

He put the cup back down. "You're that tall officer's wife." She looked up and nodded. "You're the one who smacked Shawn." This time her mask of indifference flashed to regret and guilt.

Francine stood and walked over to his bed. "I _am _so sorry. I shouldn't ha-"

Henry stopped her with a raised hand. "If I were you I would've punched him. Don't apologize for defending your husband."

"_But…Shawn is."_

Henry closed his eyes at the thought. "I know but it didn't change what he did."

"I said some really mean things to him."

"_I did too._" The room was silent as the pair replayed the conversations they had with Shawn. Henry's guilt grew exponentially as his was played in HD over and over. The look of hurt on his son's face was played in his mind and that was quickly replaced with the defeated Shawn, the one who pulled the knife out of his back to cut Henry loose, the one who was in some ICU room _dying._ Henry swallowed thickly. "We all said things in anger we really didn't mean. I just hope we have time to apologize for them."

Francine nodded. "_Me too."_ She retrieved the phone from her pocket as it rang three short tones. "It's Buzz he says to turn on the TV."

Henry clicked on the television. "Which channel?"

She typed away and waited for a response. "He says it doesn't matter."

Henry furrowed his brow but it turned to shock as he flipped through all the channels the hospital had to offer and saw what was on every last one of them. Karen was standing behind a podium preparing to give a statement and underneath her read, 'Psychic for the SBPD fighting for life after assault.'

"_Holy Shit!"_

Francine didn't normally condone cursing but this deserved something more than just normal words, so she just seconded Henry's words and with wide eyes they watched.

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When Karen pulled up to the steps at the main entrance of the hospital she expected there to be local channel six, eight, and thirteen but what she didn't expect was the vans that read _ABC, MSNBC, USA TODAY,_ and almost every other news channel in existence. "_What the hell?"_ When she stepped out of her vehicle she bombarded with reporters and mics.

"….tell us what…"

"Chief Vick is it true….."

"…..needs a kidney."

She nearly ran to where her officers were setting up the podium and getting all the wires hooked up that was necessary. She spotted her head detective. "_Lassiter!"_ The man spun and had a frantic look about him too. "What the _hell _ is going on?" The man shrugged and came closer so they could talk without being overheard.

"When we started setting up all these vans pulled up and started getting out mics and popping their satellites. I've never seen so many news channels come to a SBPD conference that didn't involve a serial killer."

Karen nodded as she looked over her notes and then looked up at him and really 'saw' him. Carlton had dark circles under his eyes and was shaky. "You didn't sleep at all last night, _did you_?"

The man was shocked that he was that transparent. "_How did you?"_

Karen gave him her 'seriously' look. "I have worked with you since you were a uniform I remember many a day you looked like this and that was always on a particularly stressing case. I've not been chief so long to forget how you stretch yourself." She leaned in and motioned for him to stoop so she could whisper in his ear. "I want to get some rest after this but I can't force you. I want to get these assholes as much as you do."

Carlton stood, shocked at his superiors anger. "_Yes Chief."_

She nodded and then checked her watch, seeing it was about time she walked to the podium and straightened out her papers. She had given quite a few news conferences since her taking this job but none had _ever_ reached this many people, she was a _little _ nervous. She cleared her throat and looked to either side of her to see she was flanked by her best two detectives and Buzz she flashed them all a smile and then, after a microphone was clipped to her lapel, began her statement.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey Matt we're on _TV!_" Angela was glued to the device as Karen gave her speech. Matt finished his shower early and joined her.

"_From what is understood Mr. Spencer was maliciously beaten in front of his father yesterday by the suspects that are now on the screen."_

Sure enough three photos popped up to flank the feed of the chief speech. "They have my _mom_ on there." Matt was seething, his mom was not someone the cops wanted to mess with.

"_If you see any of these people __**do not**__**confront**__ them. Call the SBPD hotline or 911. They are considered armed and extremely dangerous."_

"Turn the channel, I'm sick of this garbage." Angela started flipping through the channels.

"Um. Matt?" On every channel the same thing was playing, that blonde bitch that had dragged his mom through the mud and those three photos. _Every channel._

"I see it." He was breathing extremely heavy as he felt his anger rise. "Just leave it."

"_At this time I will take a few questions." Karen pointed at a reporter she recognized from MSNBC. _

"_Chief Vick is it true that Mr. Spencer is in need of kidney because of these attacks?"_

"_While normally I cannot give out medical information like this I have been given the go ahead by his proxy. The answer is yes currently Mr. Spencer is in need of a kidney. Almost ten years ago he donated one to a girl, who is now a doctor at this hospital, and the other was damaged beyond repair by these people." Karen shifted uncomfortably. "The Chief of Medicine Eric Bannet will be giving a more complete report after me. Now I will take one more question." _

_Karen pointed at a young man from a local news station. "Chief Vick, Mr. Spencer has been a consultant for your department for going on three years now."_

"_Yes."_

"_And he had closed many cases, some even deemed unsolvable."_

"_Yes."_

"_Then why, according to my records, was he dismissed just yesterday?"_

"_Excuse me." _

Matt watched as Karen seemed to tense and the gangly detective on her right had a down right murderous look in his eyes.

"_Yes. From what I have been told Mr. Spencer was dismissed for taking police case files which resulted in an officer's suspension and IA opening a formal investigation. Do you have any comment on this?"_

Angela laughed at the pure hatred pouring from the blonde woman's eyes.

"_I can assure you and everyone else watching this broadcast that Mr. Spencer is most definitely working for the police department and over the years he has become one of us. This is being viewed as an assault on an officer of the law and will be treated as such. I suggest you double check your sources young man and maybe you will have the real story next time."_

Matt continued to grind his teeth as Karen said her thank you's and exited the podium. When the older doctor took the stage and began talking about Shawn's condition he clicked off the TV.

"Matt?"

"Call mom, we need her help to get into the hospital."

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Henry couldn't believe what he was seeing on the television. Every channel was playing the newscast, he watched as reporters were scrambling to get questions answered as how to help Shawn.

"_Holy hell."_

That response was answered with a light slap on the back of the head. "That place is in _no way_ holy and I suggest you watch your mouth in front of a lady."

Henry's jaw dropped in shock. "Did you just…."

"Yes." She stared him down till he looked away. "OK that settled let's see if I can get a nurse to get you into a wheelchair."

"_What for?"_

Another smack on his head, this time rougher. "Because your son is in the ICU and you are going to go visit him."

Henry's mouth was formed in a 'O' as the woman left the room in search of a wheelchair.

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As Karen ducked away to the interior of the hospital she was met with several tired, but determined, faces of her police force plus one. "Mr. Guster, how is he?"

Gus rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Well visiting hours don't start till nine in the ICU and it's only about eight-thirty."

Karen blinked a few times to try and keep a façade of awakeness. "Are you here to visit Henry _then._"

Gus shook his head and held out his arm to show a bandage on the bend of his elbow. "Got my blood tested to see if I'm a match for Shawn."

"Are you two even the same blood type?"

Gus shook his head. "But you don't always have to have the same blood type but if we have the same marker than his body has less of chance of rejecting it." He looked up at Karen with hopeful eyes and she understood what he was doing. "I just wanted to do something, _you know?_"

Karen nodded and showed him her bandage from the blood test she had done around midnight. "_I know._" She smile at him and took out her badge. "Let's see if this can get us in with Shawn before visiting hours."

Gus almost had to run to keep up with the determined woman as she marched through the hospital halls.

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Shawn was still sputtering at the television when Sam stood and clicked it off.

"_Hey!_ He was talking about me."

"_Seriously_? Did you really understand all that he was saying?"

Shawn shifted in his bed and hissed through clenched teeth. Sam was by his side in an instant syringe at the ready and alcohol prep pads being ripped open. "Not…._gasp_…really." Sam injected the morphine into the IV and the floaty feeling took over almost immediately.

"Before you pass out,_ you druggie,_ have you given any thought as to the dialysis?"

Shawn snickered at her comment. _"Yeah I have….."_

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Juliet was looking for her partner when he found her. "_O'Hara_." She spun. "Aren't you supposed to be checking ID's at the door?"

"McNab's doing it now I wanted to talk to you." Carlton tilted his head and motioned with his hands for her to spit it out. "I should've been there yesterday and I wasn't, _I'm sorry._"

Carlton had to blink a few times to process what she just said. "_What?"_ He shook his head. "O'Hara we had this talk, this is _no_ way your fault." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But if you're feeling that guilty just make sure no one we don't want in the hospital gets in."

Juliet smiled at him. "And you get some rest partner, don't think I don't know it when you haven't gotten any sleep."

As the duo stared each other down for the next few seconds the unsaid conversation took place.

Lassiter nodded. "O'Hara." _It will be Ok._

Juliet smiled. "Carlton." _This isn't your fault either._

Juliet turned and walked toward the entrance to help McNab while Carlton turned the corner looking for the lab.

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"Thanks for all your help mom."

Martha beamed at her son. "Now Matt leave the beanie on and my old hospital ID should get you in. There isn't a picture it just says M. Turner. Hopefully the cops just check that one."

"What about Ange?"

Martha sighed. "_Sweetie_ I tried but on this short of a notice, I couldn't."

Matt cocked the Colt .45 and slipped in in the waistband of his scrub pants. "It's alright mom." He got out of the car and started toward the hospital.

"Make me proud son."

Mat smiled widely. "_I will."_


	13. Chapter 13

Sam and Shawn's discussion was cut short by a knock on the door. Karen poked her head in the room. "I have a visitor here." The next head to poke in was dark and perfectly oiled.

"_Gus! Buddy!_ Get in here you chocolate dream! "

Sam laughed at Shawn's loopiness, as she left she warned Gus. "Gave him some morphine, I shocked he's not sleeping but he's a pretty stubborn ass."

Gus nodded. "Always has been." He sighed as the door clicked behind him.

"Guuuuussss, get over here." Gus couldn't stop the smile at Shawn's whining but it was quickly wiped when he really took in the sight of the man on the bed. Shawn's right leg was in traction and every inch of skin that didn't have a pins stuck in with a halo to stabilize it was so dark it looked like the leg belonged to Gus and not Shawn. Luckily Shawn's face wasn't bruised too deeply and the stubble that was always present pretty much covered it. Gus knew that there were several other bruises but they were covered by either the blanket or the gown he was wearing. He was reluctant to get any closer as if even touching his bed would cause the man more pain.

"Gus, I promise I don't bite." Shawn wiggled his eyebrows. "_Much."_

Gus took a couple of shaky steps to the chair that was beside the bed and took a deep sigh. "_So."_

"Yeah." Shawn coughed a little and grimaced as his ribs were jarred. "_Ow._ There is just some pain even morphine can't take of." Then just as quickly as the grimace came it left and a smile was in its place. "So, anything new?"

Gus sputtered but recovered quickly because he was going to do this right. "_Well_ my best friend, who I think of as a brother, was pretty beaten up yesterday. _Actually _ he's going to die if he doesn't take dialysis."

"_Hmmmmmmm…._sounds like you've had a pretty bad day."

Gus shook his head and scoffed. "_Yeah._" Gus continued to study Shawn and felt the guilt just continue to pile on. "_I'm sorry_."

"For what, buddy? Did you take the tower down?" Shawn groaned playfully. "I wasn't done yet and I wanted a photo." He pouted and tried to give puppy dog eyes at his best friend but as he dramatically glanced up at him the playfulness ended when he saw the tears that had started cascading down Gus' cheeks. "_Hey_, I'm just kidding Gus."

Gus jumped up and started to pace. "_I lied_ Shawn, _LIED!_" Shawn was confused by his words. "When you first brought me this case I told you I thought people can change, but I _lied._" Gus spun at the foot of the hospital bed and stared into Shawn's confused eyes. "I've been waiting for you to get bored and leave again,_ not wanting,_ but waiting. Shawn I'm so sorry. _And…..and now this._" He motioned at his leg and the other injured parts of his body. "_You were getting the crap beat out of you and all I could think of was how fast I got my route done without you pestering me."_ Gus' tears began to fall in earnest. "_And I wished that you would leave me alone more often._" He took a deep breath and calmed his nerves. "But I don't want that, I _really_ don't. I want you and your crazy self. I want to be called at three AM to sneak into someone's home to get clues. _Hell_ I even want to get shot at, as long as I'm doing it with you."

The room was silent as Gus' words sunk in deep into Shawn's drug addled mind. A shit eating grin crossed his face. "You like me. "

Gus shook his head and sighed. "_Idiot."_

"But I'm your idiot." Shawn sighed. " Gus, look at me." He did. "I knew you lied but I shrugged it off you want to know why? _Because_ after all these years you have remained my friend, _my brother_, and although I get you into trouble and piss you off, you stick by my side." Shawn motioned for Gus to come closer. "And I know it's going to take some time to prove that I've changed but I guess I'll just have to stick with it then."

"_Bu….but."_ Gus could only wave his hand about. He still couldn't bring himself to say that his best friend of twenty plus years was dying.

"Serious Shawn moment?" Gus nodded. "Come closer." As soon as Gus was in Shawn's reach he was pulled into a brotherly hug. "_I know and I don't want to leave either."_

The two made a silent vow that this moment was never to be discussed again and soon the hug was broken. Gus sat back down.

"_So, _did you take the tower down?"

Gus swiped his tears away and laughed loudly.

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Karen watched through the little piece of the window that wasn't covered by the blinds. She smiled softly as the two shared a hug and then feeling as if she was watching something too personal she turned and just kept guard. She told the two officers that were stationed at the door to go and get some coffee, they both looked dead on their feet and she soon realized why, the officers she had relieved had worked the day before. _And then they pulled guard duty all night._

Slowly the magnitude of the assault began to sink in as she watched the halls outside Shawn's room. It was weird to think the last time she was here it was for such a momentous and happy occasion, the birth of her daughter. She remembered how happy she was that day despite that her labor partner was Carlton. Smiling she remembered when Shawn came and visited her and Iris and how bouncy he was, _well _more bouncy than normal. He was snarky with Carlton but as soon as the detective left and she had the nurses roll out the little bassinette he immediately held out his hands to hold her. She was reluctant at first but he had such a hopeful gleam in his eyes she couldn't say no to him. She handed over her newborn and told him several times to be careful but as she watched his face light up she muted herself. Shawn handled the baby like a pro and soon she was smiling just as big as he was when he began to hum a little lullaby to the child. It broke her heart a little when her husband came running down the hall and Shawn had to hand the baby over.

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "_Dammit._" That man who less than two years ago was visited her in the hospital and brightened her day even more was dying and Karen blamed herself. She had fired him, hadn't listened to him, and told him she never wanted to see his face again. "_What the hell is wrong with me?"_ Sure Shawn caused problems from time to time but they all could be ironed out easily, she should've known that this problem would have been fixed as well. She opened her eyes and blinked back the tears that were trying to form, she hated it when she was this tired everything was brought to the surface, the last time she was this tired was when Iris was just a little baby and her nephew went to school. _And Shawn helped you then too._

Memories flooded her brain from Shawn's first case with the department to the photos he'd taken that ensured her seat and removed the word interim from her title. He had helped so much more than she ever realized and on more than cases, when Shawn was around the station everyone just seemed happier. People just generally gravitated toward Shawn and he always found a way to make them laugh. He was more than just a Psychic detective for the department he was something of a mascot for the station, he was someone who literally helped the mood in that place and she could already see the depression set in on several of her officers as the news of his imminent demise was spreading.

"This is just not fair."

"Life rarely is."

Karen snapped her head sharply toward Sam. "How long you've been standing there?" She knew her sleep deprivation was bad when she didn't see or hear the woman approach her. She was supposed to be guarding someone, _dammit,_ and not paying good enough attention was _not_ acceptable.

"Just a moment, but from the look on your face you were zoned out longer than that." Sam peeked around Karen and saw as Shawn was telling Gus some story that had him doubled over in laughter. "_Those two._"

Karen peeked in as well. "Yeah they are the closest friends I've ever seen since, _well_, ever."

Sam turned away from the scene in the room and faced Karen. "You know the last time I saw him in the ICU he had just given me a kidney." Karen furrowed her brow as Sam continued. "I always wondered what happened with him and then two years ago he started popping up in the papers and on the occasional newscast, _well_ in the background of newscasts till they get yelled at from that Detective Lassiter." Karen smiled, because that was another fond memory she has stowed away and didn't know it till Sam reminded her. "But I've only seen him that way. I want to know more."

Karen pointed at a bench that wasn't too far away so she could still keep an eye on the surrounding area and she and Sam sat down she began from Shawn's very first case.

"….he waited in the man's driveway just so we could show up and then when he was arrested he leapt around like some madman….."

Sam laughed, Karen smiled and although it was an unfortunate circumstance that they had met, both women were glad that they were given this chance to share their memories of the man in ICU room three.

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Henry waited for what he was sure was forever till Francine and a nurse came into his room with a wheelchair. "Mr. Spencer I need to check your vitals first and then you can go and see your son." The nurse was all business except for the several glances that she kept giving Henry.

"_What?"_ The bite in his voice was clipped from the end when he caught Francine giving him a glare, he didn't want to get smacked upside the head again.

The nurse flushed red as she knew she had been caught. "I'm so sorry Mr. Spencer but I just watched the new this morning and I realized something."

Henry quirked an eyebrow "_Which is?_"

The nurse smiled as she checked the IV and listened to his lungs. "That your son worked here eight years ago on this very floor." She finished listening and checked the bandage on the stun gun burn. "He was, for lack of a better term, _a horny little devil."_

Henry saw Francine covered her mouth and try to stifle the laugh but it ended up sounding like she was choking on her own spit. The nurse looked at her worried but Francine just waved her on. Henry, on the other hand, didn't realize it till it was too late was starting to have a full on chuckle fit. The nurse soon joined in.

"_Yeah_ he chased more tail around here than a dog does in its entire life." Francine lost all control and was holding her side as she laughed. They continued like this for a few minutes.

"_But_." Henry looked up and saw that the nurse had turned serious. "He was the hardest damn worker I've ever seen here and then when donated that kidney." She shook her head and chuckled. "I've never seen _anyone_ do something like that for a complete stranger unless they were getting something in return." She smiled a bit. "That girl, _Doctor Malone_, we all knew her from her being in here, in and out because of her illness, but he didn't. _And yet._" She lowered Henry's bed and helped him stand. "He gave her a piece of himself. It was like he knew exactly what she was capable of and he only knew her for a few days." They shuffled over to the chair and got him settled into it. "And then after the operation he was gone_, travelling_. When he started popping up in the papers the girls that worked with him started pinning them up in the break room." She started to wheel him out toward the elevator. "Everyone who works this floor knows of him and those who don't, those who ask why on earth we have a wall with a Psychic detective on it, gets educated real fast."

She turned to Francine. "You got it from here?" Francine nodded and the nurse turned to Henry and put a hand on his shoulder. "You see Mr. Spencer your son was a hero before he started catching murderers."

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As Francine pushed the wheelchair closer to Shawn's room Henry spotted Karen talking with the doctor. "And you should've seen his face when he took Iris in his arms, it was just priceless. Then he started to hum this tune." Karen hummed it to the best of her memory, Henry instantly recognized it.

"I used to hum that to him." Karen looked up and smiled. "It's an old German lullaby my grandmother would sing me. I don't know all the words but I remembered the tune. Always put Shawn straight to sleep, actually it's called _Sleep, Child, Sleep._" Henry was hit was memory of a colicky Shawn and a bone tired him rocking away, it was the first time he hummed the lullaby to him but definitely not the last. "How is he, by the way."

Sam gave a sad smile. "He's in a fair amount of pain, despite the morphine but his spirits seem to be high."

"What about dialysis?"

Sam opened her mouth to answer but they were interrupted by the squeal of alarms and nurses running up the hall. Sam all but body checked one of the officers as she slammed into Shawn's room and began the rundown of what was happening. "Dammit, he's bleeding again."

Shawn was still conscious but it was slipping. "_Dad?"_

Francine had pushed Henry into the room and was off to one side so they weren't in the way. Henry stood and Sam nodded. "Get an OR open STAT and get more units of O negative ready." She began unhooking Shawn from all the machines and trying an obvious sign of bleeding. "You don't have long, Henry, so get to talking."

Shawn's eyes were closed but you could tell he was awake but the way his face was screwed up in pain. Henry grabbed his hand and swept away some of his hair that was stuck fast to his forehead with sweat. Shawn's eyes opened and he tried to smile. "_Glad you're ok."_

Henry smiled back. "You know when you pull through this you have a lecture waiting_, right_?" Henry felt a slap on the back of his head but he didn't turn, he already knew who done it.

Shawn's small smile grew. "_Way to go Francine."_ Francine nodded and returned the smile.

Henry gripped Shawn's hand almost with painful pressure. "This wasn't your fault kid; I want you to know that. All of this wasn't your fault. I didn't mean what I said."

Shawn's eyes were closed again and he was breathing heavily. "_I know. You talk tough but you're my papa bear."_ Another smile crossed his face but it was quickly replaced with a grimace as they began to prepare him for bed to gurney transfer. Henry kept the grip on Shawn's hand but stayed out of the way as the nurses moved about him. Henry closed his eyes and began to hummed the lullaby he had mentioned earlier, it was weird he hadn't heard it in over twenty-five years and in less than fifteen minutes, he had heard it _twice_. Shawn's eyes fluttered as if he was trying to open them but soon he lost his war and was unconscious but the smile on his face remained.

"Ok, let's move." The team of nurses moved Shawn to the gurney forcing Henry to let go and wheeled him out of there. Henry stumbled a bit but was stabilized when Gus got on one side and Francine got on the other. They walked out to the hall, joining Karen and the officers that were taking guard, and watched as their son, colleague, friend, and brother disappeared behind the automated doors.

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Matt watched intently from his hidden spot as the tall officer and the other blonde bitch were checking ID's. There were making sure to check everyone and they weren't just checking hospital IDs either they were making sure to check licenses. "Screw it." To stay as hidden as possible he got behind a large group of people with balloons that said 'It's a girl' on them. Just as the woman with the balloons got her ID checked, he pulled his gun and started firing.

Carlton had just left the lab and was going to help check IDs so the entrance didn't get too crowded with people waiting to get in. As he was adjusting his jacket he rounded the corner that lead toward the entrance and saw Matt behind some balloons. Quickly and quietly he pulled his gun and began to usher people to the side, he was rather impressed no one had started to scream but then he remember everyone with a TV had probably seen his face. As soon as the woman with the balloons entered the building he saw Matt draw his gun and was going to start firing any second. Carlton raced forward and pushed the woman away just in time for Matt to begin firing. Carlton dodged, ducked, and rolled from the bullets that were aimed his way and started to return fire in an oppressive amount. What Matt didn't account for was that there were two officers of the law behind him and as soon as Carlton quit firing and Matt poked back out to return rounds, he was tackled by a tall officer who wasn't afraid to use his stun gun. As Matt slowly lost consciousness he felt the blonde detective put a bony knee in his back and latched cuffs around his wrists.

"Partner, _you OK?"_ Juliet looked up toward where she saw Carlton duck behind a post. People who had parted earlier when the bullets began to fly started to gather and watch as the man under her knee was arrested, but what gave her pause, what caused her heart to quicken and her breath to catch what she didn't expect to see was Carlton slide from behind the post to the side,_ slowly and painfully._ He was shaking and from her vantage point she could see ruby staining his shirt and cascade over his belt splattering on the floor. "_OH MY GOD, CARLTON!"_ People were screaming and yelling for help as Carlton slid down into an awkward sitting position on the post leaving a red streak in his path.

Juliet was by his side in an instant, taking her jacket off and putting pressure on the hole in his stomach. "_Guess I wasn't quick enough."_ Juliet's jaw trembled as she got a small smile at his words.

"_I NEED SOME HELP!" _Medical personnel swarmed the down detective and soon he was on a gurney and being rushed off to surgery. She looked at the post and felt the need to throw up, there was blood on two sides of the post and a small puddle had begun to form even from the small amount of time he was sitting. She closed her eyes and tried to wipe the images from her mind but wasn't successful, when she opened them again she noticed that somehow during those short moments when she was applying pressure he had handed her his gun. This time the need to vomit was too overpowering, she handed McNab his gun as she ran toward the bathroom.

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Sam had found the source of bleeding but as quickly as she patched up one bleeder another one sprung up. "More sponges and keep them coming." She worked feverishly to control all the bleeding. "Son of a bitch." Sam didn't know how it happened but one of his previously stable ribs had jarred loose and ripped apart a large vein that led into his liver. She had repaired most of that but there were several small bleeders that were adding up to a significant bleed.

"Mind if I help?" Sam looked up and smiled behind her mask at her husband.

"It's been a while since you've been in the operating room, _are you sure?_"

Kevin nodded as the nurses put the sterile gown and gloves on him. "I'm pretty sure I still remember. The red stuff needs to stay in and we need sew together things to make sure that happens." Sam laughed as she continued to work.

"There is a couple of bleeds on his other side, too, if you want to open." She sighed. "I had help but he was called off to a trauma."

Kevin sighed, he kind of hoped that she hadn't heard about that. "They caught the guy who did this." He began to suction and cauterize some of the small bleeds.

Sam closed her eyes for an instant. "_Thank God._"

"_But_." Sam's eyes met his. "He shot an officer in the abdomen before he was taken down.

Sam cursed silently and went back to her patient.


	14. Chapter 14

"Clamp."

Eric Bannet worked diligently as he tried to find and remove the bullet from Carlton's intestines. He knew this was one patient that he could not lose.

"Did you hear what happened down at the entrance?"

Eric continued his hide and go seek game, they hadn't had time to do x-rays or any scans because the detective was rapidly losing blood. That's why they called him in, he was unlike most Chiefs Of Medicine, seeing as he actually still performed surgery and didn't sit in a stuffy office all day.

"Yeah I did, Rhonda, and this is the officer that got shot taking down that asshole so how about we stop the gossip and save his life."

The room was silent as Eric continued pulling foot after foot of intestines to the side following the path of damage, as it was it looked like the detective was going to have a good three feet removed.

"Found it."

Rhonda held out a dish and with skilled fingers Eric managed to scoop out the bullet and plop it in with a '_chink'_ sound.

"And now let's take care of this bleeding, do we have enough units?"

"We have three."

"Why so few?" Eric knew just how badly abdominal surgery could go, the intestines have massive amounts of blood flow going to it, so a hole as small as a bullet caused significant blood loss.

"Because Sam has the rest." Rhonda shook her head. "Her patient had already gone through blood type specific supply and we didn't have time to blood type the detective so we have three units of O negative until the lab comes back."

Eric sighed. "Ok let's get to work."

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Sam cursed as yet another bleed popped up, she was fighting a losing battle she could feel it. She gave a resigned sigh. "Kevin keep working, I need to talk to his father."

Kevin knew Sam was never on to leave the middle surgery unless she seriously thought the patient wasn't going to make it. He amped up his stitching and cauterizing. "We'll be here waiting when you get back."

The nurses helped her remove her gloves and gown. _"I hope so."_

As Sam walked toward the surgical waiting room she had to take deliberate breaths because she was in danger of hyperventilating. Shawn's rib had ripped up more than just that vein it had been moving about for a while tearing little holes in larger veins and totally obliterating smaller ones. It seemed as soon as she fixed on another one would pop up that required her immediate attention and as she worked on one bleed twenty more were going unchecked. Shawn had already used six units of type specific and two of O negative, _two-thirds_ of his body's supply had been replaced and it didn't show any signs of letting up.

She stood outside the entrance to the room she closed her eyes and took three deep breaths. "_I can do this."_ Tears were already threatening to spill as she looked out the window and saw all the people waiting; it looked like the entire SBPD had shown up. She wiped the tears angrily away and pushed the door open.

As she walked out to the waiting people, everyone's eyes were on her. "Doctor, how's Shawn?"

Sam looked into Henry's eyes and felt more tears well up at the hopeful look on his face. "Mr. Spencer we're doing the best we can, but as of right now it doesn't look too good there is more bleeding than I originally thought. We are replacing it as quickly as we can but there is only so much blood in the bank and well….." she shook her head.

Henry's eyes went steely. "Shawn's a fighter."

"Mr. Spencer I'm not sure you understand."

Even in a hospital gown and recovering from a heart attack Henry was possibly the most intimidating man Sam had ever encountered. "Oh no I understand, you've given up. But I recall you saying that you weren't going to do that, so how's about you go in there and fulfill your promise."

His words were cold, his look even colder but Sam saw what was in his eyes, _fear and hope,_ and that motivated her. Sam nodded. "I'll make sure your son wins this fight Mr. Spencer." She placed a hand on her shoulder. "_Thank you."_ Henry nodded and with that Sam turned and marched back to her patient.

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Juliet was pissed beyond all control she wanted to be at the hospital to be waiting with her collogues and friends but she was here, _watching_, as someone else interrogated the man who shot her partner.

"He's one cold customer." Juliet looked at her superior.

"Yeah he spent about twenty minutes cracking jokes about the sound of Shawn's bones breaking and then called him stupid when Shawn basically begged for them to release his dad." Juliet closed her eyes and took a relaxing breath. "Do you have news?"

Karen nodded. "Henry called; it doesn't look good for Shawn."

"What about Carlton."

"No news yet but, _you know._"

Juliet nodded this time. "I know, it's just the silence is killing me." She watched as Matt continued his staring match with Detective Dobson when he spit toward Dobson and laughed as the other man jumped, Juliet had enough. "Chief I want to take over."

As Karen was going to object she watched her detective's face, it was a mask of controlled fury. Something she had seen on Carlton on several occasions. "Ok, do us proud."

Karen watched as Dobson looked up at the door when Juliet knocked and as he answered was pulled outside and Juliet went in.

Juliet smiled at Matt. "So _what_ they couldn't get out of me with tough tactics so they send in a sweet thing like you." He wiggled his tongue at Juliet who tried to hold back her gag. She turned toward the window and nodded at Karen who understood immediately what she wanted. Karen flipped off the speaker to the observation room.

"_Chief?"_ Karen smiled at Dobson.

"I think she's about to unleash her inner Lassiter."

Karen covered her mouth as she watched Juliet smiled sweetly at Matt, who just mad another rude gesture with his tongue, and then just as quickly Juliet's body tensed and she was pointing and yelling at Matt.

Karen had to stifle a laugh as Matt tried to back away from the fury that was Juliet O'Hara.

"Damn!"

Karen nodded at Dobson. "Carlton would be proud." She continued to watch in mild amusement as the petite woman scared the crap out of the man who outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds.

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Eric was pleasantly surprised when the man on his table didn't bleed as much as he expected. So he couldn't stop the small grin that crossed his face when they had only used two unit, most of which he had lost before the surgery. "Well that went better than expected." He closed the incision and smiled again at his handiwork. "That's barely going to leave a scar."

A nurse leaned over his shoulder. "Excellent work doctor. Want to do the honors?"

Eric nodded and went to leave to tell this man's friends and family the good news but he was halted when a woman from the lab ran in to, _literally smack dab._ Eric stumbled and almost fell but the woman who had ran into him grabbed him by his arms and steadied him. "_Dr. Bannet!"_ She shoved some papers in his face. "We found a match!" He read over the papers and another grin crossed his face.

"Is all the paperwork signed?"

The woman nodded. "Do you want me to tell Dr. Malone?"

"No. I'll do that and based on how her patient was when I left she is going to need some help."

Eric sighed as he looked at the waiting room doors. "Rhonda go tell the family the good news, I've got business to attend to." The nurses eyes lit up as she bustled out of the OR wing toward the doors. Eric turned toward the room that Sam was in.

He scrubbed up and opened to door to be met with complete chaos.

"_We need more units!"_

"_Shit!"_

"_How'd we miss this!"_

"_Dammit where are those units!"_

Nurses were running about as if the place was on fire, Sam was using sponges like a mad woman, Kevin was stitching and cauterizing as fast as his nimble fingers would go, and Eric soon joined him.

"What happened?"

Sam continued working at a frantic place, stray hairs popping out from her cap, and sweat being mopped up every few seconds. "A _fucking_ shard from one of his ribs was floating around and when we started the surgery it moved to the heart ripped apart the damn superior vena cava, I'm trying not to crack his chest and get it repaired."

Eric abandoned his help with Kevin and soon his hands joined Sam's. "We can do this, _Sam_, we can do this. Besides the lab came down they have a ninety percent match that came up and I'll be damned that this young man isn't given a fighting chance."

Sam closed her eyes and two tears squeezed out as she sighed, a nurse wiped them up quickly, and as just as fast Sam renewed her efforts in the repairs. The room was, _thankfully,_silent as the three surgeons worked quicker than they have in years.

Then a loud sound filled the operating room.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…_

"_We're losing him!"_

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Angela pulled to the side of the road, she was exhausted and Martha's continued bickering about having to take back roads and paths that didn't even look like road was pissing her off.

"All these bumps, my back is going to be hurting for a week. How long do you think we are going to be on this road? Where are we going anyways? And when we get there what are we going to do for money?"

Angela closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I wonder if Matty left any money for us to take?"

That was the last straw, Angela jumped up from the driver's side and tackled the older woman, who had just squatted to pee on the side of the road, and in a ball of limbs they tumbled into the ditch.

Angela grabbed Martha's hair and started to pull with one hand and scratch her face with the other. "_YOU STUPID BITCH! YOUR SON'S BEEN ARRESTED AND YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT MONEY!"_

Martha wasn't one to take this lying, well squatting, down; she grabbed Angela's head and dug her thumb into Angela's eye. "_IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU HE WOULD BE FREE! FUCK YOU WHORE!"_

"_NO, FUCK YOU!" _Angela rolled them to their side and with the hand she had on Martha's head began slamming into the dirt until Martha was coughing and gagging from swallowing too much dirt.

The women kept beating the crap out of each other till the sound of a shot gun cocking brought it to an immediate stop. Both woman looked up and saw perhaps the most redneck man they have ever seen. He was wearing overalls and nothing else, he had tobacco in his mouth that he spit to the side as he stared at them and when he spit they couldn't help but notice that he had about two teeth in his head and they were not his front ones.

"What's two pretty ladies like you fighting on the road that runs through my property?"


	15. Chapter 15

Juliet was excited, _super excited,_ Matt had crumbled as she unleashed the wrath that had taken hold of her. She smirked when she thought of the fear in his eyes as she let in on him, but that was neither here or there because she had a location on the most recent whereabouts of Angela and Martha. She left the interrogation room with a triumphant smile on her face and entered the observation room to tell the chief what she had found out only to find a stunned looking Dobson.

"Dobson, where's the chief?" All he could do was continue his wide eyed stare and point toward the hall. Juliet shook her head in frustration. "_Men."_ She marched to the hall and started to round up a few passing uniforms she passed. "We have a locale on Angela and Martha Barret. Go get geared up while I tell the Chief."

But before she could find the chief the woman in question found her. "O'Hara I just got the most _interesting_ phone call."

In Juliet's excitement she didn't hear Karen and cut her off. "Chief we have a location on the last known location on Angela and Martha, I already got a few uniforms gearing up. I'm going as well." Her words came out rushed, jumbled, and loud as she was going through her desk picking up extra clips of ammo and gulping down the last few mouthfuls of coffee in her cup. "I need a tact vest." She went to leave but only then did she notice that the Chief was standing there eyebrow arched, arms crossed, and foot tapping. "I'm sorry Chief, it's just that…" She trailed off as Karen smiled.

"First off I will overlook this because this case is trying on all of us, secondly congratulations on making him crumble, and thirdly I have the _current_ location of Angela and Martha." Juliet gaped at her superior. "A farmer out in Lompoc called, said he was driving through his property when he spotted the two women. I called the Lompoc PD and they don't have a problem with us taking them into our custody."

Juliet blinked as she took in the information. "So we just have to go to Lompoc lock up and get them?"

Karen shook her head in the negative. "No when the farmer called he said he had it all under control and didn't want any other cops than us on his property."

By this time the uniforms had geared up and were starting to gather, Karen clapped her hands loudly. "Change of plans people, Angela and Martha Barret have been taken custody on a farm in Lompoc. Let's roll."

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"We have a tentative beat doctor."

Several other alarms were still blaring, nurses were infusing fluid as fast as possible, and three surgeons were cursing and working as quickly as they could to stabilize their patient.

"Push another amp of Epi."

Sam's hands were still in Shawn as she fished out the last shard of rib, throwing it as soon as her hand came free. "Eric help me here!"

The alarms were still blaring, the nurses still running, Kevin was still working on the smaller bleeds but Sam didn't hear or see any of that. She closed her eyes as she felt for one of the holes in the large vein, fingers gentle and probing she found it. "Three-o silk." Needle in hand she began the delicate work of sewing someone's vein together without actually looking at. Normally the patient's chest would be cracked when it came to such surgery but there are a few doctors that have the skill to do it closed and Shawn was lucky enough to not only have one but two of those surgeons in his room.

"_Got it!_"

Sam was snapped back to reality and she looked up at Eric's triumphant face, well his eyes looked triumphant. Sam felt around again and only felt stitch work, apparently she had already finished hers by the time Eric finished his.

"Kev how's it looking?"

"Not as many as before, that damn shard did its damage."

The alarms had slowed their crescendo. "He's still not out of the woods yet. Give me some suction and start infusing blood again." Sam felt her shoulders relax as she could take on a slower pace of repair, Kevin wasn't kidding when he said not as many as before from what she could see there was only a few places that were emergent and some small ones that just need some cauterizing. "Good job hon."

"See I told you I remembered about sewing stuff together." He smiled behind his mask at his wife, she returned it and then the unexpected thing happened.

"_He's FLATLINING!_"

"What?"

Sam ripped the sterile drape off of Shawn's chest and started compressions. "_Paddles. NOW!"_

"Charging…"

"_CLEAR!"_

Everyone jumped back from the table as Sam pressed the paddles to Shawn's chest and pressed the buttons to let the electricity course through him. Shawn's body jerked with the current and as soon as it came to rest the three surgeons swarmed the table. Eric and Kevin worked to close Shawn's last bleeders and incisions while Sam continued the compression. "_Push some epi and charge to three fifty."_

"Charged."

The nurse handed the paddles back to Sam who placed them back onto his chest. "_CLEAR!"_ Everyone jumped back again as Sam depressed the buttons and again Shawn's body jerked. Sam stepped back and looked at the monitors that were reading out everything from heart rate to blood pressure. Eric continued to stich along with Kevin as Sam studied the monitors. She smiled as there was some small blips on the heart rate monitor indicating heart activity. "Push one last amp of epi and let's see what happens." The nurse did as told and everyone sighed in collective relief as the heart rate became stronger and more regular.

"He's all done here." Sam just nodded at her husband as she continued to study the heart rate as it grew stronger but her brow furrowed as she noticed it was becoming irregular again. "_Sam?" _Kevin stood next to his wife and watched along with her.

"_Come on…..come on."_ Sam kept muttered this chant to herself as the blips on the screen became further apart and erratic. "_No…no…no…come on Shawn fight!"_

But Shawn couldn't hear her so he couldn't follow her request and his heart gave out,_ again._

"Asystole again, doctor."

Sam closed her eyes and cursed under her breath and then as someone pressed fast-forward she was a flurry of action. "Scapel, sternum saw, and spreaders, _let's crack him people_." Eric began chest compressions as the equipment was being gathered, he knew that Sam was doing this as a last ditch effort, not many people survive having their chest cracked for internal resuscitations. They had fifteen minutes to have his chest cracked and heart beating on its own to save him, not a whole lot of time but maybe,_ just maybe,_ enough. He gave Kevin a grateful smile as he applied an automatic defibrillator and got it set to pacemaker.

"Fifteen minutes Sam." Sam nodded at her collogue as the nurses changed her gloves and rushed around to get everything ready.

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For perhaps the fifth time in the last hour Henry jumped up from his seat and paced along the hallway dodging anyone that was walking toward those doors that separated him and his son. He closed his eyes as he faced the door, he could feel like something was wrong. Ever since the nurse came out and told them all about Carlton he felt like something wasn't right with the world, _what,_ he had no idea but he was sure it had to do with Shawn. "_Come on."_ His eyes snapped open as the doors were forcefully slammed open by a surgical nurse who came running up the hall and dodged into a supply room. Almost as quickly as she ran back out and ran back up the hall with what looked like an electric screwdriver but had a saw blade on it.

"That's a sternum saw." Henry didn't know he had company till that sentence brought him back to reality.

"_What?"_ It came out almost like a whimper because he _could not_ have heard Gus right.

Gus looked him in the eye tears threatening to fall. "That's a sternum saw, Mr. Spencer, they use them to crack open someone's chest to do internal compressions." Henry swallowed, there were other people getting surgery behind those doors but he just knew it was Shawn that needed that saw. "_Mr. Spencer?"_

Henry had enough it had been almost three hours since his son disappeared behind those doors and he'd be damned if the next time he saw Shawn would be in the morgue. "_Dammit."_ Henry marched forward leaving Gus behind and as the door opened to let a nurse out, Henry slipped in. He quickly walked up the hallway trying to get a glance into the rooms he passed, just as he decided to open and peak into the room on his right a nurse came running out of a room a few door ahead of him and came rushing past. Henry abandoned the current room and went to the one the nurse just came out of. He stalled at the door for only about two seconds before he slammed them open.

"_You can't be in here!"_ Kevin tried to remove him but Henry held his ground and despite what Shawn may say about him being _'old'_ didn't mean you were weak and soon he had pushed the man aside and at his son's side. Kevin went to remove him again but Sam stopped him.

"Kev, don't." Sam watched as Henry brushed his son's hair back and searched for his hand.

"What's wrong." He was giving Sam the stare down.

"His heart is not beating on its own, right now we have an AED giving it little shocks for artificial stimulation but that is only a stop gap the compressions of his heart aren't strong enough in this state to keep him alive for too long. We need to open his chest and try to start his heart from internal compressions."

"What about a pacemaker?"

Sam sighed. "See, Mr. Spencer, while a pacemaker is good for keeping rhythm and would make his heart beat he would be brain dead. He'd be forever in a coma."

"_Thank you._" Henry studied his son's slack features and made an instant decision. "Don't."

Sam froze and gaped. "But we have the kidney and he…..he…"

"_Just. Don't"_ Henry leaned over his son's head and whispered in his son's ear. "I'm so sorry kid. I wish you could hear me. I want you to know, _I'm proud of you kid."_ He gave his son's forehead a kiss and nodded at Sam, who reluctantly turned off the AED. Henry kept his vigil at his son's side as the heart monitor recorded a slowing heart beat as the last of the electricity left the muscles.

"_Doctor?"_ Sam looked up from the father and son to watch the monitor as well and just as quickly as the heart rate slowed it started to pick back up and become stronger.

"We have normal sinus." Sam could've almost started jumping for joy when she saw the little blips on the screen.

"Ok, everyone, let's do a round of dialysis and get that new kidney in him." She turned to Henry. "He's a fighter, Mr. Spencer."

Henry just nodded and let a nurse lead him out of the room to the waiting area and as he watched the doors close again, Henry's feeling of dread changed to one of relief. "_He's a fighter."_

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Juliet didn't know what to expect when they hit the road that ran though the property that belonged to the farmer but she most certainly did _not_ expect this. As they pulled up to the _main_ house she couldn't help but be jealous. "Damn I should've taken up farming." She leaned forward to get a better view of the house as she pulled into the driveway. The house was bigger than the police station, it almost looked like a log cabin but unlike any cabins she had ever seen it had two floors, wrap around porches on both levels, and from her vantage point she could see a huge chandelier hanging in the second story. She parked and got out, joining the other gaping officers. "Has anyone knocked?" Several shakes of head later she was standing in front of the massive front door ringing the doorbell.

"This place is huge." Karen was just as wide-eyed as everyone else.

Juliet leaned over. "_I know. Makes me want to take up farming."_

The huge door swung open without a noise and there stood the most ragamuffin person either woman had laid their eyes on, _seriously,_ they had seen homeless people who looked better. Karen looked at her notepad. "_Mr. Carter?_"

The man shook his head in the negative, spit out some tobacco and smiled at the ladies. "Mr. Carter is my father I'm Billy Carter, I believe we talked on the phone?" He wiped his hand on his not-so-clean overalls and held it out to the Karen who reluctantly took it and shook. "Well formalities out of the way let's go get them fugitives." He slipped on a pair of battered boots and led the group toward another huge building. "I had to keep them in the barn, they didn't smell too pretty." The women exchanged glances as they followed him. Juliet mouthed '_seriously'_ to Karen who just shrugged her shoulders and pointed to her right. Juliet hadn't seen it before but behind the woman was a huge pool worthy of the Olympics, what looked like a guest house that was huge enough that Juliet was sure her _entire_ family could stay in it and never cross each other's paths, and a few more buildings that Juliet had no idea of their function but they were huge all the same. The farmer turned around and smiled as he watched the two women gaped at his property. "The pool I had custom made so that everyone in my family could swim and not get in each other's way." He turned his head and spit. "Then there's the guest house, it sleeps fifteen, and those other buildings are the pool house, bunk house for when I have workers living here and storage." He continued their trek toward the barn. "The barn is two stories, like the house, upstairs is hay storage and on the main level there are twenty horse stalls."

The women just nodded dumbly as they followed the man. "Well here we are." He pushed open the double doors to the barn and they were all greeted with perhaps the most hilarious sight they had ever seen; Angela and Martha were lying in the middle of the barn on their bellies and hogtied. "I had to make sure they wouldn't run off on me."

Juliet had to stifle a laugh. "McNab go cut them loose and get them in your cruiser." As Buzz got closer to the bound women he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Something wrong, _McNab?"_

The young patrolman shook his head. "No."

He cut them Angela loose first and cuffed her. "Thank God that crazy ass had us in here for hours!" Juliet had to stifle another laugh as Angela's features relaxed to relief as she was led past her. Juliet now knew why McNab crinkled his nose. "That crazy bitch peed on me!"

"Just take them to the cruiser McNab." Juliet heard the suppressed laughter in her boss' voice and she almost lost it.

Juliet oversaw the uniforms cutting loose the other woman and leading her away toward the cruisers. She looked like she had been in some sort of vicious fight she was covered in scratches, dirt and caked blood. As they pushed the woman through the double doors she felt herself sigh in relief. "It's over." The relief was soon over when she felt her phone buzzing, indicating she had a call, when she looked at the ID it said 'Gus' and she couldn't help but feel her heart sink. Answering it she felt her heart start slamming in her chest. "_Gus?"_ By this time Karen was taking the statement from the farmer and had returned back to Juliet's side, she raised her eyebrow in concern.

As Gus poured forth the news on the condition of his best and her partner she felt her eyes well up in tears. The officers in the immediate vicinity all looked like someone had just told them their puppy died and Karen had her mouth in a flat line trying to hold back her own tears. Juliet covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "They're Ok! Carlton's been out of surgery for almost two hours, no complications, and Shawn just came out, they found a kidney and placed it!" Everyone broke out in grins, _including Karen,_ and even a few uniforms whooped for joy. She said quick goodbyes to Gus and hung up. "Chief, _can I_?"

Karen just nodded and Juliet ran off as fast as she could in five inch heel, which was pretty fast, and was driving away in a manner that reminded her of Carlton's reckless driving.

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Carlton came to consciousness slowly and as he came too he took stock of himself; his mouth was crazy dry, he felt stagnant, and there was a dull ache he had only felt twice before. "_I was shot?"_ Juliet hovered over his face and smiled broadly.

"Yeah you were partner, gave us all quite a scare." Carlton licked at his lips to try and wet them but it was like trying to wet them with a cactus, his tongue was rough and tasted like he had eaten a dead ferret. "_Here."_ A straw was placed in between his lips and he drank greedily at the cool liquid, _best water ever._

He spit out the straw. "Did we get him?" Juliet nodded. "Spencer?" Carlton furrowed his brow at his concern, definitely must be the drugs talking.

Another skull splitting smile from his partner. "He had it rougher than you. Had to go back into surgery but he made it through and they found a donor."

Carlton was confused and not by his partner's words, he somewhere in the back of his head felt like he already knew that a donor was found but he shrugged it off. "How long?"

"You were out about twelve hours." She stood and pointed at another bed in the room. "They think he's going to be out longer." Carlton studied the man in the other bed and it took him a few seconds to realize that his roommate was Shawn. The younger man was pale, bruises that had just started forming the last time he had peaked in at him had darken and become angry, his leg,_ if it was possible,_ looked worse and he propped up by a colony of pillows. "If you're lucky we'll get you out of here before he wakes up."

Carlton directed his attention back to his partner. "The others?"

"They were captured out at farm in Lompoc. Some farmer caught them fighting on the road that runs through his property. All three are being transported to county as we speak." Carlton nodded and felt his eyes slip shut.

"_Lassie-face!"_

Oh his luck could not be that bad. He opened his eyes to see that his partner had abandoned his side and was by Shawn's brushing his hair back and pushing the call button. "Spencer." The two men's gazes met and in an instant they came to an understanding.

Carlton nodded. _I'm sorry._

Shawn nodded back. _It's alright._

As the room started to fill up with visitors both for him and Shawn, Carlton allowed the drugs to take back over and he fell into a blissful, _Spencer free_, sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Eight Months Later….(Give or take a week)**_

"You were the one who broke into Mrs. Angle's house and stole the painting but you didn't anticipate for the housecleaner to be there, you panicked, and shot her." Shawn pointed at the gruff looking man. "Lassie arrest this abomination to hairstyles everywhere. I mean _really_ a mullet?" The suspect lunged at the closest person to him, which just happened to be Shawn, and drew a particularly long knife. Shawn froze, unable to speak and to the outside observers he wasn't breathing either.

"_Shawn!"_ Gus was torn between wanting to protect his best friend and being very, _very_ afraid of the knife that was pressed against his best friend's side. Shawn, on the other hand, only had one concern and that was not to get stabbed, cut, or just generally eviscerated by that knife. He grabbed the arm that was wrapped around his neck and scrabbled to try and stay standing as his leg gave sharp bursts of pain with every heavy step backward. He paled visibly and sweat sprung from his forehead and lip.

"Don't do it Stalet! Drop the knife!" Juliet kept her aim steady and true as Stalet continued to drag a now very pained looking Shawn backward.

"This is the only kidney he has right?" A Cheshire like grin crossed the man's face as he began to push.

Carlton had been quiet the whole time stealthily circling around the pair as the knife wielder kept his vision on Juliet. When Stalet pushed the knife further and Shawn let out a whimper the detective acted leaping forward, shoving the fake psychic out of the way, and subduing the assailant.

"_Shawn!"_ Gus was by his side in an instant checking for damage. Gus sighed with relief when all he saw was a little pinprick that had already stopped bleeding. "You ok man?"

Shawn took Gus' proffered hand and stood up with as little as a struggle as possible and with both Gus' and Juliet's help hobbled over to the red Impala. Shawn leaned heavily on the hood just as the suspect's head was slammed on it as he was cuffed by one pissed off head detective.

"Spencer I would appreciate it if you would quit pissing off knife wielding maniacs." Carlton clenched his jaw as he caught the look in Shawn's _scared_ eyes. "Look Spencer…." Shawn just waved him on and once Gus handed his cane he hobbled away toward the blueberry.

"Carlton!" The man in question shoved Stalet into the back of his car and gave his partner a look.

"_What_ O'Hara?"

"He is still recovering, you know that."

"I know O'Hara but he just gets himself into these situations." Carlton shifted uncomfortably under his partner's stare and something pulled on his side, something painful. He hissed as he put his hand to the source of pain.

"Crap." When he withdrew his fingers, blood stained them.

"Carlton!" Juliet was by him in an instant pulling at his shirt despite his protests and pulling his shirt back down. "Stop it Carlton!" He gave in as she gave a particularly hard tug effectively untucking his shirt to expose the wound. Juliet's gentle fingers probed the area sending little shocks of pain through his side but nothing too painful. "It's not too deep and seems already to be clotting." She grabbed a few napkins from the console of the car and pressed them to his side, causing another hiss of pain. She looked up from the now clotted wound worried and when saw his patent go-away look being shot her way she went back to his side making sure her partner wasn't hurt anywhere else. Her vision came across a familiar looking scar eye widening in recognition. "_Carlton_? What is this?"

He closed his eyes and mentally cursed, of course the perp would've picked that side to slice. "It's nothing O'Hara. They had to remove more than intestines or did you forget that bullets cause a lot of damage." Juliet was smiling too widely to have heard the condescending tone in his voice.

"Carlton I think I would've remembered you needing a kidney removed and _well_ this is on the opposite side than you bullet wound." She stood and crossed her arms an almost childlike glee in her eyes as she watched him retuck his shirt.

He tried to glare menacingly but gave up with a sigh. "One word O'Hara and I will live up to my nickname and fetch it back." Juliet kept the shit eating grin as they got into the car.

"You do know, though, that you will have to apologize. Giving him your kidney or not."

Carlton crinkled his nose. "I know." And in silence they drove toward the station.

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When Shawn limped into the station with the help of Gus he was met with some familiar faces and one not so familiar face. He started with the most hostile looking one. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"They wanted to come and visit you." Henry eyed his son up and down. "You ok kid?" Shawn just nodded. "Bullshit."

"Mr. Spencer!" Henry closed his mouth with a click as Sam brought forth a little bundle. "I advise you to watch your mouth around little Shawn."

Shawn furrowed his brow. "Little Shawn?"

Sam deposited the little being in Shawn's arms and pointed at him. "Little Shawn." And then pointed at him. "That'll make you big Shawn."

_Big_ Shawn grinned and limped away gently cooing over the baby as the little group watched him. "What happened, Gus?" Gus leaned over and told Henry the whole story. Henry showed an appropriate amount of worry but it was mixed with anger.

"Damn kid trying to get stabbed on his first case back."

"If I recall you said you were proud of him." Sam quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I heard it too." Kevin smiled as Henry seemed to turn several different shades of red.

"Doesn't matter." He turned his attention back to his kid rocking the baby and smiled softy. "I'm glad his ok though."

"We all are Mr. Spencer." Sam reached out and held her husband's hand.

Shawn had just started humming a lullaby that for some reason was always in the back of his mind when he was tired and couldn't seem to sleep when Juliet and Carlton came in with Stabby McMullet.

"O'Hara does Spencer have a baby?"

"Looks like it." Juliet let her partner lead the suspect to lock up and went closer to Shawn. He seemed to be in his own little world as he swayed gently leaning on his good leg for support and was humming something to the baby in his arms.

Sensing someone was near-by Shawn looked up. "Jules, meet little Shawn." He held out the baby for Juliet to get a better look.

"_Little Shawn?_" Shawn nodded.

"They named him after me isn't that neat?" Juliet couldn't help but smile at the glee in Shawn's face and nodded. Shawn went back to the humming.

"When do you think those two will figure it out?" Sam turned toward Henry and Gus who were watching the Shawn and Juliet.

"Probably never." Sam and Kevin laughed.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Gus pointed at Shawn who now didn't only have a sleeping baby in his arms but a tired looking Juliet with her head on his shoulder.

"What's going on here?"

Gus pointed. "Shawn is rocking little Shawn."

"_Little Shawn?_ Oh god not a world with two of them." Carlton look genuinely scared but as soon as he made sure no one was looking his way he gave a small smile at the sight before him. He knew that one day his partner's defenses would be broken and she would date that idiot but he would have to deal with that problem then now he was just grateful that she was no longer in that slump she was in after Shawn's assault. "Guess it could be worse." As for apologizing to Spencer, he did have some coupons for free chips when you buy a sandwich at the Sandwich Hut.


End file.
